How much of the very prevalent manifestation of age-related frailty is due to the widespread lack of exercise in this era of comfort and sloth? Research suggests a sizable fraction, an answer that we might suspect to be the case simply because interventions such as strength training produce significant improvements in older patient populations. This is a personal choice for all of us: "use it or lose it" is a very real decision. Unpleasant consequences for health and well-being accompanying the worse of the two options.
Frailty, a consequence of the interaction of the aging process and certain chronic diseases, compromises functional outcomes in the elderly and substantially increases their risk for developing disabilities and other adverse outcomes. Frailty follows from the combination of several impaired physiological mechanisms affecting multiple organs and systems. And, though frailty and the age-related loss of muscle mass and strength known as sarcopenia are related, they are two different conditions. Thus, strategies to preserve or improve functional status should consider systemic function in addition to muscle conditioning.
Physical activity/exercise is considered one of the main strategies to counteract frailty-related physical impairment in the elderly. Exercise reduces age-related oxidative damage and chronic inflammation, increases autophagy, and improves mitochondrial function, myokine profile, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) signaling pathway, and insulin sensitivity. Exercise interventions target resistance (strength and power), aerobic, balance, and flexibility work. Each type improves different aspects of physical functioning, though they could be combined according to need and prescribed as a multicomponent intervention. Therefore, exercise intervention programs should be prescribed based on an individual's physical functioning and adapted to the ensuing response.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1...dox.2020.101513
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