Use it or lose it
Staying active into your 70s, 80s and even 90s, is not only possible but vital to optimising quality of life, a growing body of evidence shows.
Cathy Johnson, reporting on the ABC Pulse program, says that recent research has pinpointed a ‘double whammy’ that strikes muscles in our mid 60s.
Not only do we become less efficient at making muscle from the protein we eat, but the breakdown of muscle between meals is increased as well, say the researchers whose work was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
These changes can make our muscles smaller and weaker and help put us on the path towards becoming frail.
But this degeneration of our muscle strength actually starts much earlier in life, says Dr Elizabeth Cyarto, from Australia’s National Ageing Research Institute. This downward slide is mirrored in our balance, flexibility, vision, brain function and a host of other bodily systems as well.
“You reach your peak in your early to mid 20s and everything starts to go slowly downhill from there, with a snowball effect as we reach our late 60s,” Dr Cyarto says.
But it’s something we can change.
“For just about all our bodily systems, it really is a case of ‘use it or lose it’,” says Dr Cyarto, who is involved in promoting new physical activity guidelines for older Australians, released earlier this year.
Published by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, the guidelines build on 2005 guidelines aimed at all adults, by providing specific advice for those over 65.
“If you stay active as long as possible or even start physical activity as you’re older, you can stave off the steep decline that tends to happen once you hit 65 or so,” she says.
“You can’t stop it completely, but you can certainly slow it down, so you can stay quite functional and independent into your 80s and 90s.”
