How can you prevent muscle loss as you age, according to the NY Times?

As we age, sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass can become a significant health concern. Your goal as your age is to prevent muscle loss, since the process can begin in your 40’s and you can potentially lose half of your muscle mass by the time you are 70.

Like osteoporosis in our bones, sarcopenia or the loss of muscle tone, mass and strength can become a significant health concern.

The good news is that by staying active and getting regular physical exercise, you can prevent or keep the condition to a minimum while maintaining muscular strength. Your heart will also benefit.

If you are athletic into your 50’s and 60’s, your muscles are likely to maintain their tone into your 70’s and 80’s

Recently, the NY Times discussed the condition and offered some sound advice on how to prevent it. Just because you are older, it does not mean that you have to become more sedentary. There have been reports of people in their 90’s competing at the Penn Relays and recently, a French biker who was over 100 years old set a world record for his sport on an indoor track.

Check out the article below

Preventing Muscle Loss as We Age

Sarcopenia, a decline in skeletal muscle in older people, contributes to loss of independence.

By Jane E. Brody Sept. 3, 2018

“Use it or lose it.” I’m sure you’re familiar with this advice. And I hope you’ve been following it. I certainly thought I was. I usually do two physical activities a day, alternating among walking, cycling and swimming. I do floor exercises for my back daily, walk up and down many stairs and tackle myriad physical tasks in and around my home.

My young friends at the Y say I’m in great shape, and I suppose I am compared to most 77-year-old women in America today. But I’ve noticed in recent years that I’m not as strong as I used to be. Loads I once carried rather easily are now difficult, and some are impossible.

Thanks to an admonition from a savvy physical therapist, Marilyn Moffat, a professor at New York University, I now know why. I, like many people past 50, have a condition called sarcopenia — a decline in skeletal muscle with age. It begins as early as age 40 and, without intervention, gets increasingly worse, with as much as half of muscle mass lost by age 70. (If you’re wondering, it’s replaced by fat and fibrous tissue, making muscles resemble a well-marbled steak.)