JJ Virgin explains sarcopenia, the loss of muscle quality that affects an estimated 11% of people over 60, though the real rate is likely higher since it's rarely screened. Muscle loss starts around age 30 and low strength is a top risk factor for early death. Two simple tests measure it: a body-composition scan and a hand-grip test.
Hey, JJ, what is sarcopenia? And why should more people understand about it and care about it?
Sarcopenia is poor muscle quality relative, and you hear about this as sarcopenic obesity or skinny fat, is when people do not have enough muscle and quality muscle relative to their size. The big reality, we say that 11% of 60 to 70 year olds have sarcopenia, it's estimated, but the reality is it's probably way higher because no one's looking for it. How do you find out if you have sarcopenia? There's a couple different tests that you can do, but one of the easy ways to do it is to get a DEXA scan or a body composition test and look at your fat-free mass, and then do a handgrip dynamometer to look at your strength and put those two together. If we were actually testing for it, I think we'd find that the statistics are Way high. And the why this is so important is strength is one of the top risk factors, low strength, of all-cause mortality. That's death by anything as we age. And as we age, one of the big things that start to happen is we lose our muscle size, strength, and power at around age 30. So this is totally preventable and very important for your, not just your lifespan and healthspan, but most importantly, your strengthspan. To make this very simple for you, muscle is your best medication as you age.
