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Understanding Sarcopenia Better




All people will go through the natural process of aging. When you age, there are many changes you will experience in yourself from your physical well-being to your overall psychological well-being. One of the things that can happen to you as you age is sarcopenia. Sarcopenia is a term used for the loss of muscle mass due to aging. With a decrease in muscle mass, aging people will have a reduction in their personal strength. With reduced strength, your gait and balance will also be affected. This condition can impact the aging person’s ability to perform activities of daily living such as walking, climbing the stairs, and lifting objects. If you want to understand and learn more about sarcopenia, make sure to click for more.


Understanding sarcopenia begins by knowing sarcopenia causes. The IOF or International Osteoporosis Foundation declares that muscle mass begins to decline when people reach 40 years of age. Muscle tissue loss may progress much faster when a person reaches the age between 60s and 70s. Though the rate of muscle decline varies from person to person, the average muscle mass lost per decade is about 3 to 8 percent. When a person loses muscle mass, this occurrence may comprise a reduction in muscle size as well as a decrease in the number of muscle fibers. When smaller and fewer muscle fibers are combined, you can expect the muscles of aging individuals to shrink or atrophy.


When people go through the natural aging process, certain changes happen to their bodies. These changes are the reason why aging people develop sarcopenia. For instance, as a person grows older, the natural ability of their body to produce proteins that the muscles require to grow now declines. When there is a decrease in protein production, each muscle cell will get smaller. Learn more about sarcopenia symptoms.


The decrease in muscle mass can also be caused by age-related hormonal changes. Essentially, insulin-like growth factors and testosterone levels have some influence on muscle mass and muscle growth. When you grow old, the levels of these hormones will go down, making them a contributing factor to muscle mass loss.


The risk factors of sarcopenia include a sedentary lifestyle, which increases the likelihood of developing sarcopenia. One such example is working at a desk for prolonged periods. Though aging primarily causes sarcopenia, other factors also contribute to muscle mass loss. The first one is living a sedentary lifestyle, of course. Poor nutrition is another cause. When you practice poor dietary habits, you are more likely to develop sarcopenia as you age . For more click for more.


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