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Sarcopenia is a fancy way of saying low muscle mass. “Sarco” latin root for of the flesh; “Penia” a suffix meaning to lack or have a deficiency. It is thought sarcopenia in community dwelling older adults (not those in assisted care) is 10-40%. Sarcopenia was originally characterized as an age related low skeletal muscle mass. This is associated with poor muscle strength, function, and endurance. It can be caused by aging, low activity and immobility, exercise, nutrition, and health issues.
What does sarcopenia look like? You may feel weak, get fatigued easily. Balance issues. Difficulty walking or standing. This can impair your ADLs (activities of daily living) like getting groceries, dressing, bathing, cooking, standing up, walking, and cleaning your home. When looking at the frailty index for older adults, what affects frailty the most is not blood pressure or diabetes. It is can you feed yourself, dress yourself, and live alone.
Why does this happen as we age? There are many theories-
- Lack of anabolic hormones
- Vascular disease
- Chronic inflammation
- Insulin resistance and poor blood sugar control
- Nerve dysfunction.
You will notice many of these issues are interlinked with other disease processes like heart disease, diabetes, and dementia. It is for this reason that skeletal muscle mass is being focused on. Many studies are showing correlation between skeletal muscle mass loss and it being an early warning sign for dementia. Studies have shown that low muscularity is an independent risk factor for dementia, regardless of body fat percentage and grip strength. Those with sarcopenia were 2.3 times more likely to have cognitive impairment. It is unclear whether low muscle mass is an early marker or a causal factor of cognitive decline. This still needs to be studied.
So why is muscle important? Theories are that
- more physical activity and fitness gives more blood flow to the brain.
- Muscle contraction stimulates release of myokines and neurotrophic factors with anti inflammatory effects
- Hormone theory
- Insulin resistance improvement
- Less oxidative stress
- When muscle mass lowers, it affects the daily tasks like dressing and bathing.
- Weakened muscles make bones more susceptible to fractures
How can Biohackr Health help?
TEST. Do an In Body Scan to figure out your muscle percentage. Figure out where your hormones are. Blood sugar issues? Test your hemoglobin A1c and do a continuous glucose monitor. Test your NAD levels.
TREAT. If any tests come back abnormal or low, fix it.
EXERCISE. As you age, you must BUILD MUSCLE. Cardio is not adequate. Creatine, NAD, resistance bands. Progressive resistance based strength training is key.
EDUCATE. We are obsessed with healthspan and are constantly evolving in our recommendations based on scientific studies. We want you to live longer, but in an actively healthy way. Read our blogs. You will notice, as we have, that these disease issues are all interrelated. Muscle mass, blood sugar control, cholesterol, hormones and brain health form an interrelated web.
