What is Sarcopenia and How to Fight It?

Many adults are diagnosed with sarcopenia, a type of muscle condition that causes mass loss and muscle weakness due to aging. With sarcopenia, patients feel they lose strength in their body, as well as problems moving or a greater tendency to suffer falls, osteoporosis, etc.

This loss of muscle strength and mass appears during the adult stage and becomes more evident in old age; in the case of women, this body change has a greater impact during menopause. In this article, we will find out what sarcopenia is and how to combat it so that you know better this common and common condition in our society.

What is Sarcopenia?

Sarcopenia is an ailment that occurs in adulthood in people and affects the functioning of the muscles. This loss of functionality may lead to a certain degree of disability in the person who suffers from it, as well as some kind of dependence to be able to carry out their daily activities. Therefore, sarcopenia has an impact on our having a worse quality of life and on our being less independent during old age.

Today, sarcopenia affects a large part of the adult population, and some experts have labeled it a 21st-century epidemic because of its high prevalence in old age. It is possible to prevent this disease if healthy lifestyles are followed and, above all, a sedentary life is avoided.

Although sarcopenia is related to the passage of time, the truth is that there are people who suffer from this condition long before entering the stage of old age. And it is that one of the causes of this loss of strength and muscle mass appears to be having an unhealthy and inactive lifestyle. Some factors increase the risk of sarcopenia; the following are:

– Genetics itself

– Gender (affects women more than men)

– Physical activity that has been carried out throughout life

It is clear that muscle loss is something that comes with age, but its effects can be delayed if we lead a healthier lifestyle for our muscles. Starting to lose a certain degree of independence at 75 is not the same as starting to lose a certain amount of independence at 85, so we should try to delay this condition as soon as possible.

How to Combat Sarcopenia?

Prevention of sarcopenia is essential to slow the ageing of our muscles and be able to be independent for more years. Therefore, it is important that, before we start feeling muscle problems, we begin to adopt healthier lifestyles that affect both exercise and diet.

However, it should be a doctor who is in charge of prescribing the methods that each patient has to follow. Each person has particular needs, and, therefore, it is essential to adapt the planning individually.

In general terms, to combat sarcopenia, the following aspects will be reviewed:

– Diet to follow. You should bet on a balanced diet and high protein intake to maintain muscle health. Your doctor may prescribe the taking of protein supplements better to assimilate this type of vital nutrient for the muscles.

– The exercise to be done. Typically, resistance exercises are recommended to help improve muscle strength and mass; weights, elastic bands, or calisthenic exercises are the most commonly suggested by professionals.

– Complementary work with physiotherapists or physical trainers to optimize the results.

Bibliography

Morley, J. E., Baumgartner, R. N., Roubenoff, R., Mayer, J., & Nair, K. S. (2001). Sarcopenia. Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine, 137(4, 231-243.
Evans, W. J. (1995). What is sarcopenia? The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 50 (Special Issue), 5-8.
Cruz-Jentoft, A. J., & Sayer, A. A. (2019). Sarcopenia. The Lancet, 393(10191), 2636-2646.