Nutrition and Exercise in Sarcopenia.

July 18, 2018•2 min read

Curr Protein Pept Sci. 2018;19(7):649667. doi: 10.2174/1389203717666161227144349.

Nutrition and Exercise in Sarcopenia.

Anton SD , Hida A , Mankowski R , Layne A , Solberg LM , Mainous AG , Buford T .

Abstract

Sarcopenia is a debilitating condition that involves loss of muscle mass and function, which affects virtually everyone as they age, and can lead to frailty and ultimately disability. In growing recognition of the importance of both muscle strength and muscle mass relative to body size in contributing to functional decline, recent definitions have now incorporated grip strength and a correction for body mass as part of the key criteria that define sarcopenia. With this new definition, a much larger population of older adults are now at risk of sarcopenia. In the present article, we reviewed the literature for studies which tested the effects of diet or exercise interventions on changes in lean mass and/or functional outcomes in individuals with either sarcopenia and/or frailty and identified 19 clinical trials. There were a few key findings. First, dietary interventions involving protein supplementation improved functional and/or strength outcomes in a few trials; however, other dietary approaches were less effective. Exercise interventions and combined diet and exercise interventions produced consistent improvements in lower body muscle strength but had less consistent effects on walking speed and grip strength. Lifestyle interventions not involving calorie restriction generally did not induce significant changes in body composition. There were a limited number of trials in which participants with sarcopenia were specifically targeted, and thus there is an important need for more research to determine the appropriate types of intervention approaches for the high risk population of sarcopenic older adults. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at [email protected]

KEYWORDS: Obesity; activity; aging; fat; muscle; nutrition; protein; strength.

PMID: 28029078 DOI: 10.2174/1389203717666161227144349 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

Format: Abstract 1 Author information Publication type, MeSH terms

Link to the official publication

Stephen Anton, PhD

Dr. Anton’s specific research interests are in the role that lifestyle factors have in influencing obesity, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic disease conditions. He completed his doctoral degree in Clinical and Health Psychology at the University of Florida (UF), receiving training in health promotion and the delivery of lifestyle interventions designed to modify eating and exercise behaviors. Following completion of his post-doctoral fellowship at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in June 2007, he accepted a joint Assistant Professor position within the Department of Aging and Geriatric Research and Department of Clinical and Health Psychology at the University of Florida. Since joining the University of Florida, he has successfully obtained and conducted multiple grants examining the effects that lifestyle-based interventions have on biological and functional outcomes relevant to obesity, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic disease conditions related to aging. With over 150 scientific articles and book chapters, his research has been recognized both nationally as well as internationally.

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