You Don't Have to Lose Muscle as You Age

Posted By Dr. Mercola | November 28 2011 | 401 views

Increasing physical frailty as you age may not be inevitable. Until recently, most studies showed that after age 40, people typically lose 8 percent or more of their muscle mass each decade. But newer research suggests that this is not a foregone conclusion.

One study of 40 competitive runners, cyclists, and swimmers, ranging in age from 40 to 81, found no evidence of deterioration -- the athletes in their 70s and 80s had almost as much thigh muscle mass as the athletes in their 40s. Other recent studies have had similar results.

The New York Times reports:

"In an encouraging animal study from last year, elderly rats that had been sedentary throughout their adult lives were put on a running program. After 13 weeks, their leg muscle tissues had filled with new satellite cells, a specialized type of stem cell that is known to build and repair muscle. Comparable experiments in older people have yet to be done, though."