Key Found to Muscle Loss After Age 65

livescience ^ | 14 September 2009 | LiveScience Staff

[JoeProBono]

It’s a sad fact that muscles shrink as adults age. But new studies are starting to unravel how this happens — and what to do about it.

Past research has shown that the bodies of older people build muscle from food less efficiently than young people.

Now researchers at the University of Nottingham in England have also found that a mechanism that prevents muscle breakdown works less effectively in people over the age of 65, resulting in a “double whammy” effect.

For the elderly, less muscle mass means not only a loss of strength, but also increases the likelihood of injuries from falling. However, the new research suggests weight training may help older people retain muscle. The study, detailed in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, compared the effects of insulin (a hormone released to slow muscle breakdown after eating) on a group of people in their late 60s to a group of 25-year-olds.

The subjects were examined before breakfast and then re-examined after they were given a small amount of insulin to raise the hormone to a level similar to having eaten a bowl of cornflakes or a croissant. To calculate how much “wasting” was happening in the leg muscles of both groups, the researchers tagged an amino acid (a building block of muscle protein) and performed blood analysis to determine how much of the amino acid was delivered to the leg and how much was leaving it.

“The results were clear,” explained Michael Rennie, a professor of clinical physiology at the University of Nottingham.

“The younger people’s muscles were able to use insulin we gave to stop the muscle breakdown, which had increased during the night. The muscles in the older people could not......”

[JoeProBono]

[llevrok]

The older I get, the lack of sweet things have made my muscle shrink too.

But I digress....

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Doctor tells me to keep walking....preferred that over going to an exercise room.

[Sacajaweau]

I go to the store 2 or 3 times a day...Walk end to end...safe, doesn’t rain or snow in the store and more fun than a gym...

[jwalsh07]

50 pushups every night, 35 miles a week on the stationary bike, viagra as needed and all my muscles are good to go.

[t1b8zs]

been kinda common knowledge that weight trainnig is good for “every body”.

[t1b8zs]

holy shit,congrats .....50 push up was boot camp....

[brytlea]

OOOO I hate weight training! DARN!

[brytlea]

One thing I’ve noticed now that I”m older and trying to get back into shape, I don’t get results nearly as fast. I have been walking 2 miles per day for about 2 months now, and really, I can’t tell any difference. I know I need to up the distance/time, but until it gets cooler here it’s the best I can do. When I was younger it seems like I went from sedentary to pretty good shape in short order.

[brytlea]

Oh, I also wanted to do something for my upper body, so I was going to start push ups. I couldn’t do even ONE! So, I saw somewhere about doing them against a wall, have been doing about 20 of those per day. At least its’ something.

[Sudetenland]

Once more we see that exercise is the key to a longer more productive life. Surprise, surprise!

[GOP Poet]

Wow. A picture of great health! Thanks so much for posting this article and the picture!

[JoeProBono]

[uncbob]

TUE THUR SUN —Jog 6 each day

MON WED SAT —Weights and Machines for 1 HR at LA Fitness

FRI -25 miles on my bike on the road and SE PA ain’t flat

6 FT 155 lbs

Don’t need Viagra

AGE 73

[brytlea]

Well, that’s not ME!

[brytlea]

Good news is, I don’t need viagra. And I never will. :)

[JoeProBono]

Me neither:)

[mamelukesabre]

I don’t lift weights or excercize. But today at work I had to momentarily lift a chunk of cast iron clean off the pavement that weighed somewhere around 350-400 lbs. And due to a recent bout with swine flu, I currently weigh-in somewheres south of 170lbs. I seem to have lost most of it from my thigh muscles.

That’s my life. I don’t need no exercize.

[SkyDancer]

Well not to rain on anyone but some humor from Mark Twain. He said regarding exercise - "I could never find any benefit in being tired"

[uncbob]

http://home.comcast.net/~bobbetsy/bob71.jpg

[Stentor]

Oh, I also wanted to do something for my upper body, so I was going to start push ups.

I did push ups almost every every day from age 15 to my mid fifties. Could be why my shoulders eventually decided to unhook themselves and cause major pain.

[ElkGroveDan]

At first I thought this was one of those WorldNet Daily ads that are meant to look like headlines.

[ElkGroveDan]

[mysterio]

If I’m lucky enough to get past 65, I will exercise as much as I can. The benefits are worth it.

[brytlea]

Yeah. I think some of my joint issues are certainly a result of teaching aerobics in the 1980s. Still wish I had kept it up tho...who cares if I couldn’t walk, I’d look GREAT! ;)

[DigitalVideoDude]

Woah... TMI.

[Daffynition]

[SkyDancer]

Damn!! Cool.

Mark Twain said that shortly before he died at 75.

[B.O. Plenty]

For what it is worth...I started push ups about 3 years ago. I could do about 3 when I started....then squeezed out 4, then 5....and now, I do 60 every day(2 sets of 30). My chest muscles used to be flabby, but now are firm. Every now and then I increase to 35, but not very often.

The point is that you have to keep at it, even one will lead to 2..and so on.

I will be 72 in Nov....in addition to the push-ups, I walk about 3.8 miles every day...I intend to keep on until I can't do it any more.

The goal here is quality of life, not length.

[JoeProBono]

90 Year Old Jack La Lanne

[Cricket24]

“FRI -25 miles on my bike on the road and SE PA ain’t flat”

Well, it’s a heck of a lot flatter than northern PA!

Way to go!

[Daffynition]

[ConservativeMan55]

bttt

[BunnySlippers]

Also, if you can walk on a hill, it makes a big difference in building muscle and burning calories. I live on a hill that is very steep. My heart is pounding like crazy by the time I reach the top.

[Beloved Levinite]

Lifelong Finess with Dr. Bob Delmonteque

[Kennard]

Arnold”s declining physical condition is, to my mind, the best example of what happens to a guy with a healthy mind and body who marries a liberal.

[jwalsh07]

I'm 58 and I've been doing pushups since I was a kid and more since I went through Army Basic as a bit of a cutup many years ago. :-}. I do some work with the dumbells as well. The bike and carrying my clubs up and down the hills of New England takes care of the lower body.

Keep it up you're doing good.

[dangerdoc]

That lump in his left pectoralis is a pacemaker, what a trouper.

[jwalsh07]

The goal here is quality of life, not length.

Same here.

[JoeProBono]

POOR MAN'S JUICER

[Ditter]

I know what my problem is, it is injuries and arthritis from all the exercise I got when I was younger. 2 torn rotator cuffs, torn knee cartilage, arthritic hands and bone spurs on hip bones and various other places. It is no wonder I don't work out at the gym. IT HURTS WHEN I DO!

[DollyCali]

I hate gyms! Love the outdoors, Intense/rugged hikes with dogs, biking, X-skiing, kayaking.. beats sweaty /germ laden gyms any day

[DollyCali]

me too. Ditter.. everything I do is with a LOT of pain & I do take a lot of OTC pain killers.. but I know I must push..

[bert]

Think WII.

A revolutionary tool for geezer fitness

[tioga]

Work out in a pool...built up my knees after some problems with arthritis.....I jog and walk in my pool all summer.....no sweat. Literally. Now that it is fall I am using an elliptical. I just bought another season of 24. One show is about 40 minutes on a DVD, it’s just right for a workout.

[Beloved Levinite]

Bob Delmontique @ 84

[bert]

My recently retired friend who moved back here taught me to do them from knees rather than toes. I could do only one or two, but supporting from the knees has allowed to work up to 15

[JoeProBono]

Damn Sam!