In evidence

English
Thursday, 15 September, 2016
Advancing age is linked with important changes in body composition, the most remarkable of which, sarcopenia, is a major cause of physical function decay, disability, and mortality. After the age of 35 years, a healthy subject loses muscle mass at a rate of 1% to 2% per year in combi- nation with a 1.5% annual decline in strength, which accelerates to around 3% per year after the age of 60. As a consequence, the muscle cross-sectional area of the thigh de- creases by about 40% between 20 and 60 years of age.