Muscle loss (sarcopenia) starts as early as 40

I recently came across a piece by New York Times writer Jane E. Brody with the headline “Muscle Loss due to aging can be reversed”.  Brody, who is 80, says she has a condition known as sarcopenia, or age related muscle loss. That sent me to my bookshelf looking for a book I hadn’t thought about in over 20 years called Biomarkers: the 10 Keys to Prolonging Vitality, by William Evans, PH.D. and Irwin H. Rosenberg, M.D. professors of Nutrition and Medicine at Tufts University. Published in 1991, the authors coined the name “sarcopenia” from the Greek sarco, meaning “of the flesh”, and penia, meaning “reduction in amount or need.”

While reading Brody’s story, it struck me that I hadn’t seen the word sarcopenia mentioned anywhere since I first read Biomarkers back in the early 90s. According to Brody, sarcopenia, or the gradual loss of skeletal muscle begins as early as age 40! Kept unchecked, this can lead to an astounding loss of 50% of lean mass by age 70. Why is this so catastrophic? Because there are people in nursing homes only because they need help getting off the toilet!
Dr. Jeremy Watson, a geriatrician at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine  says, “Sarcopenia is one of the most important causes of functional decline and loss of independence in older adults.” So when was the last time your doctor talked to you about preventing sarcopenia? Ha ha, me too! Never!
But good news! No matter how old you are (or young) you can start a weight lifting routine to prevent and reverse it! Check out this simple workout with Emily Skye!


https://www.health.com/fitness/emily-skye-lower-body-workout-video