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Dangerous Deterioration
Losing Muscle Mass and What You Can Do About It
By Suzy Feine
As children, our bodies are filled with energy, practically forcing us to stay in shape. As we age, our muscles begin to deteriorate with disuse. No longer are we running, jumping and playing daily as we did during adolescence. Rather, we're sitting down at work all day, watching television at night too much and not focusing on exercise enough. This disuse can quickly lead to muscle loss, a serious side effect of aging.
Age-related loss of muscle mass and strength is now termed "sarcopenia," a relatively new buzzword in the medical field but one that is garnering plenty of research. Scientists today are evaluating the effects age and a sedentary lifestyle have on lean muscle. They are finding that disuse, rather than age, can lead to sarcopenia.
"As an individual ages and activity levels decline, muscle atrophy occurs," says Beth Ribblett, fitness director at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation's Elmwood Fitness Center in New Orleans, La. "This reduction in muscle size slowly begins at age 25 and by age 50 represents a 10 percent loss. A more rapid loss occurs from age 50 to 80 during which an additional 40 percent is lost."
Sarcopenia can creep up on you even if you're involved in an exercise program such as running, aerobic classes or stair-climbing machines. While these programs provide great cardiovascular workouts, they do little to build overall muscle mass and reverse the effects of sarcopenia. Sarcopenia is not a necessary part of aging, and the damaging effects are avoidable – even reversible – through strength training.
