Article Link NPR: "Millions of women are 'under-muscled.'" [sarcopenia-related links]

[hch]

NPR has a recent article, Millions of women are 'under-muscled.' These foods help build strength

I'm not trying to promote, criticize, debate , or otherwise discuss the nutritional part of this article (I couldn't find a more exercise-centered companion piece)--but I do want to mention being struck by a few parts.

- Yes, the title begins with "Millions of women are under-muscled."

- The article quotes a similar line,

"As a country, we are under-muscled," says Richard Joseph, a wellness-focused physician. It's a key culprit of physical decline.

In the audio excerpt, we also hear "[Dr. Joseph] told me loss of muscle strength is really underappreciated" (1:00) and "women tend to lose muscle faster" (5:23).

Rachele Pojednic, an exercise scientist, is quoted saying, "you can build muscle up into your 70s, your 80s, your 90s, so hope is not lost as you get older, just do know that it gets more challenging" (6:01). This part is followed by the author's own note that she tended to concentrate on cardio but has been changing her habits to do weight training more frequently than before.

(I could write a rather long response here, but not yet. I'll just say for now that I'm reminded of how the fitness-ish world has sometimes been and sometimes hasn't been aligned with fitness. It's interesting to see how attitudes towards strength training, muscle, and the like have changed over the years.)

- This article links to a 2023 press release, HHS Launches National Sarcopenia Awareness Campaign, which in turn links to the US Department of Health & Human Services Office on Women's Health site about sarcopenia.

[prettyinpink]

It seems good that there is more emphasis on women being strong and building muscle rather than being as thin as possible.

I don’t agree with everything Peter Attia says, but I like the way he talks about training for old age, thinking about what you want to be able to do then, and realizing you need to be a lot stronger than that at 50 or 60 to account for the inevitable declines in muscle, strength, and power that will occur with age. Of course there are others that say the same things, but it’s one way to frame it.

There are always trends in reporting, though, so I wonder how long it will be until things shift back to talking more about cardio capacity. It is good to have both muscle and an efficient heart. As we have less and less necessity in our daily lives to work on either, it becomes harder and harder. Like so many health and fitness articles, this one is targeting the well-off, and even the well-off with many resources often don’t do so well with things like fitness goals and guidelines. So I wonder about how we can get more of these benefits at scale for more people, and in a sustainable way. It’s a big problem. Is the answer really in more gyms and dumbbells, which not very many people are interested in? Eating more protein won’t fix it.

The article does give the impression that protein is uber-important, when the training part is 95% of the equation. Eating extra tuna fish won’t help muscles that aren’t doing work. But it’s good that strength is being talked about.

[rhbrand]

I know in my area, very rural, lots of farms the women who end up in the nursing homes, all seem like they are weak, can't do for themselves, need help getting on/off toilet stuff like that.
The men, they have dementia, or had a stroke, but are otherwise strong. Cause the men, even when "retired" will still go out and feed the calves, haul hay, help out on the farm well into their 80s. Stuff that requires muscles to do.

Of course this is a generality, but I've seen it so much since I worked in both the nursing homes in my area. More often the women are to weak to stay at home, while the men had some sort of dementia or physical reason, like a stroke, that ends them in the nursing home.

[Vintage VFer]

Interesting article. Thanks for the link! I agree that the article is lacking in the exercise component.

I first heard the word "sarcopenia" in Andrea DuCane's The Kettlebell Boomer workout (2011). She speaks at length about muscle loss with aging. Muscle loss progresses exponentially after the age of 60.

This goes for men and women. Protein is an important food item. But, it doesn't matter how many eggs you consume, you must do weight training.

Years ago, I had a friend compliment me on my arms. I told her I lifted weights. She said, "I don't like to lift weights."

What do you say to that????

[Gibbee]

Dr. Gabrielle Lyon also talks about the importance of muscle. Her recent book is Forever Strong. I enjoy listening to hear on occasion along with Peter Attia.

[cyana]

Here's a link to a video - around 19 minutes in length - from HT Physio - Over-Fifties Specialist Physio from the UK discussing muscle loss in older adults. No gimmicks, just solid recommendations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMQbzlBr2VM

[cataddict]

Thanks for posting about this article! I think it wasn’t exactly comprehensive, but I agree that women (and men) are “under muscled” and it’s not just due to lack of protein in the diet. I think there is still a predominant idea among the general population that women with muscles aren’t “feminine.” **sigh**

VVFer, my answer to your friend would be, “then I guess you won’t mind someone helping you on and off the toilet in your later years.”

rhbrand, interesting observations about the differences you see between the older men and women in your community. I always pictured the women being actively involved in the farm work outside along with the men, but perhaps that’s not the case.

[rhbrand]

Are there women who farm with the men. Some, but they either only do minor chores cause they still need to take care of kids, cook etc, or they work outside the home cause unless you have a big factory farm, it's hard to make a lot of money with pure farming. Almost all farmers around have someone who works outside the farm.
So the wife does something, teacher, nurse, store clerk, something off the farm, they get home and do kids stuff, house stuff, while the husband farms until late in the evening.

[cataddict]

rhbrand, that makes sense. It’s sad that farming full time is becoming a thing of the past. It feels like a part of our country’s heritage is being lost.

prettyinpink, it does seem that the pendulum swings back and forth. I believe that people are looking for an “easy” way to maintain health and fitness with minimal effort. Good luck with that.

There was a news story recently about a 70 year old man who had a goal of lifting 500 pounds in a deadlift. He trained for that specific goal and achieved it, so it’s possible to build and maintain good muscle strength. He also had been exercising for years and had a positive attitude about his ability to achieve his aim. He didn’t just start lifting and 3 weeks later he was tossing around 500 lbs. The story didn’t give a lot of details as to his training over the years, but regardless it’s a great accomplishment at 70 (and younger)!

[Leonana]

VFer, I’d probably be speechless, but say something snarky in my head, lol. I guess you could say, “Well, fortunately for me I do.”