Muscle loss can cause a range of health problems as we age – but it can be prevented

Here’s a sobering fact: 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 40% 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 20𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 80𝘴

That might sound outlandish, but it’s a natural part of ageing.

Known as sarcopenia, this is the gradual loss of muscle mass that occurs as we age. Although we can start losing muscle from our 20s, this loss really speeds up once we hit our 60s.

At the same time that sarcopenia causes 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘴, we simultaneously 𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘴, and see a big 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 too.

All of this can have a big impact on how well an older person moves.

Muscle mass plays a huge role in our health. So much so that sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity (the combination of low muscle mass and excess fat), and dynapenia (the loss of muscle strength) are associated with a surprisingly wide range of health conditions, from heart disease and diabetes to frailty and dementia.

In fact, in people who already have heart disease, those with the highest levels of muscle mass seem to have the best chance of living longer.

On the other hand, people with the 𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 from all causes.

This tells us that muscle might play a protective role in heart health.

Why this happens may have something to do with chemical messengers (myokines) produced by healthy muscles, which can help reduce inflammation throughout the body.

Another major benefit of having healthy muscles is that they help protect us from diabetes.

When we eat and digest carbohydrates – such as potatoes, bread or rice – sugar enters our bloodstream, of which a lot is sent to our muscles.

Our muscles use this sugar for energy, or store it as glycogen in order to maintain stable blood sugar levels.

This process is an important part of blood sugar control and helps explain why people with less muscle are more likely to develop diabetes.

Low levels of muscle are also linked with a greater frailty, weakness, and being less able to carry out normal daily activities.

This means people can have trouble with regular tasks such as getting out of bed, standing up from chairs, climbing the stairs or carrying groceries.

All of this can make living independently a lot more difficult.

Difficulty moving can also mean people end up moving even less which speeds up muscle loss.

People with sarcopenia who lead sedentary lives are also at greater risk of osteoporosis. This is because active muscles send signals to bones that help them stay strong.

The drop in strength from sarcopenia means people may be more prone to falls and bone fractures.

Again, this fear of falling may make some people more sedentary, which may reduce quality of life and put them at a greater risk of depression.

Although sarcopenia is a natural part of ageing, muscle loss is largely accelerated by inactivity.

As we get to middle age, we tend to move less but 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝘆.

Without that signal our muscles start getting smaller and weaker over time.

Eating protein also acts as a signal to grow and maintain muscle.

However as we age, we tend to have smaller appetites and eat less protein, increasing the risk of muscle loss.

Lower levels of the hormones testosterone, higher levels of body fat, insulin resistance (where the body doesn’t handle glucose as it should, which can lead to diabetes) and higher levels of inflammation are other reasons why 'Dad Bods' lose muscle more easily than younger men.

In fact, all of these factors combined lead to something called “𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦”. This means the body doesn’t respond as well to the signals that normally cause muscles to grow.

If that isn’t enough, current COVID-19 restrictions may be making muscle loss even more likely.

Data from smartphones has shown that people have been more sedentary than usual during lockdown.

We also know that people’s 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 and people are probably feeling 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘹𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺.

These factors can also speed up muscle loss by affecting hormones that increase muscle breakdown and encourage weight gain by affecting appetite hormones, causing people to eat more processed foods that have more calories.

This is called a “𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘴” – a brief period of time when conditions come together to make muscle loss much more likely.

Another example of a catabolic crisis would be if someone was hospitalised or forced to spend days, or even weeks in bed. COVID-19 could very well create a catabolic crisis for many older adults after a lockdown.

𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 – 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱 – 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀, 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘁.

Resistance exercise, such as lifting weights, body weight or using elastic resistance bands, helps keep muscles strong and healthy.

High protein diets, containing foods such as lean meats, fish, eggs and dairy products can also help to build and maintain more muscle than exercise alone.

Getting at least 25-40 grams of protein each meal is especially important.

On top of that, widely available supplements including vitamin D, fish oil and creatine (a naturally occurring substance found in the muscles which helps them produce energy) may help people hold on to more muscle and improve their quality of life as they age.

𝗗𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰, 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗹𝘆, 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵.