Sarcopenia is a condition that starts in our forties characterized by loss of muscle, strength, and stamina. Unfortunately, 10% of the population over the age of 60 have it. It starts slowly, and the rate of muscle loss can reach 15% per year in later years. It typically progresses until 50% of muscle mass is gone by our eighth decade. Since muscles account for 60% of our total mass, this condition can result in serious weakness and other health issues. Although the effects may be noticeable early, they can lead to increased hospitalizations and nursing home care, and early death with older age groups. 

Prevalence

It leads to several adverse health outcomes, especially later in life, including loss of function, disability, frailty, limitation of independence, increased insulin resistance, fatigue, falls, arthritis, and early death. For example, one study showed that the prevalence of sarcopenia in nursing-home older adults was 51% in men and 31% in women. In hospitalized individuals, it was around 23.5%. A systematic review published in 2018 found that 41% of nursing home residents have sarcopenia, four times higher than the overall prevalence. 1 These studies and others show that sarcopenia leads to more hospitalizations, a greater likelihood of nursing home care, and a generally lower quality of life.

Confusion Over Diagnosis

There is no agreed-upon definition of sarcopenia in the health field because the size of muscles does not always correlate to their strength. However, tests for grip strength, walking speed, and muscle mass measurement, should be included to diagnose. 2 The most accurate method for assessing muscle mass is the DEXA scan, which is considered the gold standard because of its accuracy and the built-in cut-off measurement for sarcopenia. 3

Early Detection Is Critical

Numerous comorbidities and physical disability, poor physical performance, depression, frequent falls, increased hospitalizations, and functional decline contribute to diminished quality of life. Because all of these factors can lead to a negative downward spiral, early detection and treatment are crucial. 

Links With Obesity

Obesity and fat infiltration into our muscles often accompany sarcopenia; in other words, many people with sarcopenia don't appear small or frail: they are skinny-fat. Thus, the technical term for the condition is sarcopenic obesity. 4 

Age Is A Contributing Factor

Aging is a significant factor in sarcopenia; however, younger people can suffer from it due to constant dieting, hormonal imbalances, obesity, and sedentary lifestyles. Still, other contributing factors are physical inactivity, poor nutrition, chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and neuromuscular junction degeneration. 

Nutrition And Inactivity Are The Worst Contributing Factors

The two main contributing factors are poor nutrition and inactivity. Older adults often have 25% reduced food intake, coupled with poor quality processed foods. Reduced protein intake and low vitamin D levels also accompany poor diets and diminish muscle strength. In addition, sarcopenic individuals in nursing homes reported more sedentary activities, were less likely to report being physically active, and were more likely to be malnourished. 5 Osteoporosis co-occurs with it often. Osteosarcopenic obesity syndrome is the combination of bone degradation, muscle loss, and Exercise.

Exercise Helps To Prevent And Reverse Sarcopenia

One of the easiest interventions is to increase physical activity. helps, Beckwée et al. stated that high-intensity resistance training is beneficial for sarcopenic patients. Still, since many are incapable of intense exercise, low-intensity resistance training may be sufficient.

Additionally, Haber et al. determined that aerobic exercise like cycling also induces beneficial changes. In case of inability to exercise, whole-body vibration therapy vastly improves leg strength, knee strength, sit-to-stand performance, and jumping height. 

As we age, most of us need more protein to maintain muscle. Thus, a good strategy for aging populations is to increase protein intake, regardless of sarcopenia. Notably, leucine is the rate-limiting amino acid for muscle. Therefore, supplementing with it can result in better outcomes. 7 

A Good Diet Helps

Studies show that diets higher in dairy or egg improve sarcopenia. Research has found that spreading the protein intake throughout the day is best. 8 Finally, fish intake has been reported to delay the onset of sarcopenia due to its high protein, vitamin D and E, magnesium, and omega-3 content. 9 For those who don't eat fish, vitamin D, and omega-3 supplements also improve strength. 10,11

Medicine Can't Treat It Yet

There are no approved medications for the treatment of sarcopenia. Still, since chronic inflammatory states, diabetes, low testosterone and estrogen, vascular diseases, kidney, lung, and cardiac failure contribute to sarcopenia, treating these conditions is of great benefit. 12 Two supplements show promise in improving sarcopenia: curcumin and resveratrol. 13,14

Conclusion

Regardless of whether we get sarcopenia, we will all lose muscle and strength as we age. Having an awareness that this happens is half the battle. Remaining active and eating a diet of unprocessed whole foods devoid of processed carbohydrates and processed seed oils like corn or canola is the best way to stay healthy and stave off the effects of sarcopenia and other significant chronic diseases like heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. As I always say, "muscle is medicine." Go get some!