Sarcopenia With Aging

 

If you lose so much muscle mass that you struggle with basic daily activities, you may be diagnosed with age-related sarcopenia or sarcopenia with aging.

Everyone loses muscle with age, typically about 3%-5% each decade after age 30. Inactive people lose the most. The loss can become more noticeable and start to speed up at around age 60.

Sarcopenia can be a serious problem. Once you have lost a lot of muscle and strength, you may struggle to do things such as getting out of chairs, opening jars, or carrying groceries. You also can become frail, easily loss of balance and so have a higher risk of falls, broken bones, disability and even death.

The major cause of sarcopenia is aging.

There are some of the things happening in our bodies as we age that might contribute to sarcopenia:

• Reduction in nerve cells responsible for sending signals from the brain to the muscles to start movement
• Lower concentrations of some hormones, including growth hormone, testosterone, and insulin-like growth factor
• A decrease in the ability to turn protein into energy
• Increases in inflammation, partly due to disease

In addition to the biological changes that are part of the aging process, older adults are likely to have additional risk factors, such as inactivity, a poor diet, and chronic disease, which contribute to loss of muscle and strength.

Sedentary lifestyle

Studies suggest that staying active as you age can cut your risk of sarcopenia significantly. Spending a lot of time inactive may contribute to lost muscle and strength even if you exercise during other parts of the day.

Diet

The body has increasing trouble turning protein into energy as we age. Some studies show a link between eating too little protein and developing sarcopenia. You can slow the losses of muscle and strength down with a high-quality diet with plenty of protein, including protein from plant foods such as beans and nuts.

Other dietary habits, including diets low in fruits and vegetables, may also play a role. Diets with a lot of ultra-processed foods — manufactured products with high levels of sugar, salt, additives, and unhealthy fats — also have been linked to low muscle mass.

In general, older adults who are malnourished, because they eat too little or eat a diet that does not provide adequate nutrients for their needs, are at higher risk for sarcopenia and decline more rapidly when they have it.

Obesity

Some of the same factors that raise the risk for sarcopenia, such as inactivity and a poor diet, can lead to obesity. When you have both conditions, doctors call it sarcopenic obesity. Obesity appears to worsen sarcopenia. High levels of body fat increase inflammation and change how your body responds to a hormone called insulin, both of which can speed up muscle loss. Obesity can also make it harder to stay active, leading to a cycle of muscle loss and fat accumulation. 

Chronic illness

Having a chronic disease such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, kidney disease, diabetes, cancer, or HIV increases the risk of sarcopenia.

You cannot prevent all the losses of muscle and strength that come with age. But you can slow them down with lifestyle changes, especially increases in physical activity.

In fact, the primary treatment is strength training (also called resistance training), which can help regain strength and mobility.

As you work on strength, it is also a good idea to include aerobic exercise, such as walking, to build endurance and improve overall health, and balance exercises, to reduce the risk of falling.

Although sarcopenia can have a big effect on your quality of life, making it harder for you to do things you want to do and get around your home and community, if you start a strength-training program and make other lifestyle changes, you can regain some strength and mobility. But if you do nothing, you will get weaker and lose more muscle and may eventually need full-time care.