Across studies, strength is lost two to five times faster than muscle mass
Why do people get weaker faster than they lose muscle?
The finding
At age 75, longitudinal studies show muscle mass loss of 0.80–0.98% a year in men and 0.64–0.70% in women, and strength loss of 3–4% a year in men and 2.5–3% in women. Loss of strength is the more consistent risk for disability and death.
- Authors
- Mitchell WK, Williams J, Atherton P, et al.
- Published
- Frontiers in Physiology 3:260 · 2012
- Evidence
- Taken from a review, reprint or summary; not checked line by line.
- Source
- doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2012.00260
How it was studied
Quantitative review of longitudinal and cross-sectional studies.
The numbers
Median cross-sectional mass loss was 0.47% a year in men and 0.37% in women.
What it does not show
A review of heterogeneous studies, read in abstract. The rates are anchored at age 75.
What Longstanding does with it
Same lesson as Goodpaster and Newman: test what you can do. The app has no muscle-mass input.