Engagement in Muscle-Strengthening Activities Lowers Sarcopenia Risk in Older Adults Already Adhering to the Aerobic Physical Activity Guidelines

Abstract

Sarcopenia in older adults is associated with a higher risk of falls, disability, loss of independence, and mortality. Current physical activity (PA) guidelines recommend engagement in muscle-strengthening activities (MSA) in addition to aerobic moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). However, little is known about the impact of MSA in addition to adherence to the MVPA recommendation in the guidelines. The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to determine whether or not engagement in MSA is linked to sarcopenia risk in older adults who meet the PA guidelines of 150 min of MVPA per week. A total of 193 community-dwelling older men and women (65–70 years) were included in the study. A continuous sex-specific clustered sarcopenia risk score (SRS) was created based on muscle mass assessed using bioelectrical impedance analysis, handgrip strength, and five times sit-to-stand (5STS) time, assessed using standardized procedures. Adherence to PA guidelines was assessed using the Actigraph GT3x accelerometer and the EPAQ2 questionnaire. Guideline adherence to MSA twice a week was related to a significantly (p < 0.05) lower SRS compared to those who did not. This finding was evident after adjustment for adherence to the protein intake guideline and abdominal obesity. Similar impacts were observed for muscle mass and 5-STS but not for handgrip strength. In conclusion, guideline adherence to MSA is related to lower sarcopenia risk in older adults who already accumulate 150 weekly minutes of MVPA, which reinforces the promotion of the MSA guideline, alongside the MVPA guideline, to fight against sarcopenia progression in ageing populations.

Associations between Circulating Inflammatory Biomarkers and Indicators of Muscle Health in Older Men and Women

“…Our findings are in agreement with previous evidence reporting inverse associations between muscle mass and inflammation with [48][49][50] and without [20,51,52] adjustments for adiposity. Protein intake and PA represent other potent driving factors for muscle wasting and inflammation in older populations [4,[30][31][32][33]36,53,54]. Notably, we assessed both the total amount of PA (CPM) and engagement in resistance-type exercises (MSA), as well as protein intake, and this strengthens the evidence that there are independent links between the systemic inflammatory environment and muscle health in older women.…”

“…Physical activity (PA), of both an aerobic-and muscle-strengthening nature, and protein intake are commonly identified as two key factors contributing to the prevention of accelerated age-related muscle wasting and physical function [30][31][32][33][34][35][36]. Therefore, these lifestyle-related factors need to be taken into account when elucidating links between muscle health and the systemic inflammatory environment.…”

Healthy Eating Is Associated with Sarcopenia Risk in Physically Active Older Adults

“…Our study extends previous work on the role of overall diet quality on muscle health [ 11 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ] in a sample of physically older men and women, where all participants adhered to the guideline about weekly MVPA time. Given that reduced muscle activity decreases muscle mass in older adults [ 31 ] and that engagement in muscle strengthening activities lowers sarcopenia risk in older adults [ 13 ], our findings suggest that adherence to a healthy diet has beneficial effects on sarcopenia risk beyond those inferred by adherence to guidelines regarding MVPA time and engagement in muscle strengthening activities. Moreover, the observed link between HDS and SRS was independent of both total macronutrient intake and adherence to guidelines for protein intake, which suggests that dietary quality can elicit beneficial impacts on the preservation of muscle health that are separate from those driven by adequate amounts of daily protein intake.…”

“…Moreover, a recent systematic review reported inconsistencies in the relationship between dietary patterns and indicators of muscle health, which highlights the need for further studies investigating the role of dietary habits diet on muscle health in older adults [ 11 ]. An important step towards the understanding of the independent influence of diet on determinants of sarcopenia risk is to consider, in general, the potential myotrophic effects of physical activity (PA) habits and, more specifically, muscle-strengthening activities (MSA) [ 12 , 13 ]. Indeed, major health organizations, including WHO, highlight the beneficial role of MSA in promotion of muscle health in older adults [ 14 ].…”

Effects of Reallocating Time Spent in Different Physical Activity Intensities on Sarcopenia Risk in Older Adults: An Isotemporal Substitution Analysis

“…In contrast, a recent study failed to demonstrate any effect of reallocating time spent in sedentary by LPA or MVPA on fat-free mass [ 19 ]. In addition, alongside PA intensity time patterns, activity type (endurance vs. strength) may yield different effects on muscle health, where muscle strengthening activities (MSA) are generally regarded as an efficient strategy for promotion of improvements in muscle mass and strength [ 20 ], and engagement in MSA has been shown to reduce sarcopenia risk [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. Furthermore, the confounding influence of dietary protein intake, a well-established driver for preservation of muscle health [ 26 , 27 ], needs to be accounted for, when depicting the links between distribution of PA intensity time patterns and indicators of muscle health in older adults.…”