But no single food provides all the nutrients needed for good health, so it’s important to eat a variety of foods. Excellent article. Knowing how important muscle is for both health and recovery, practical ways to measure muscle mass and function are essential. Her research is focused on evaluating nutritional therapies that can prevent muscle and strength declines due to sarcopenia, hospitalization and chronic diseases. Physician Compensation 2020: How Much Money Do U.S. Doctors Make Per Year. Correlation Between Muscle Mass and Heart Health? Muscle plays a central role in whole-body protein metabolism by serving as the principal reservoir for amino acids to maintain protein synthesis in vital tissues and organs in the absence of amino acid absorption from the gut and by providing hepatic gluconeogenic precursors. For decades, our society has been using a person’s body mass index, commonly known as BMI, to determine a person’s health. She has co-authored over 30 peer-reviewed scientific publications, and routinely presents her research at national and international scientific conferences. For most of us, asking a few simple questions will give us a good indication: There is truth in the adage 'you are what you eat'. Since muscle weighs more than fat, it’s common for people to get wrongly characterized as either healthy or unhealthy based on their BMI. No worries if the gym crowd and CrossFit rage aren’t for you. Over the last 12 years at Abbott, Suzette has led several collaborations with scientific key opinion leaders, business partners and across Abbott. But as we age, our muscle mass diminishes, making more rigorous exercise difficult. Enough protein, the building block of muscle, is essential for healthy muscles. The good news is that technology is enabling us to better and more easily understand our body composition. Muscle mass plays a huge role in predicting health outcomes and yet is rarely assessed in clinical practice. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Muscle mass has also proven to be a strong predictor of health outcomes in cancer patients. Getting the right nutrition is especially important when you’re sick or recovering from a health event, such as surgery or pneumonia, as you may not be consuming the amount or types of foods in your diet that will help you recover. This is not necessarily true. Understanding muscle mass is one way to begin closing this gap. Adequate nutrition and maintaining a balanced diet are great ways to support your muscle health. There are sophisticated techniques to measure muscle function in clinical practice such as grip strength. Muscle mass can impact a person’s strength, energy, mobility, and overall health. Tools already exist and are being used in clinical practice for other applications. Learn how your comment data is processed. Imogen Watson, registered dietitian and Medical Nutrition Manager, Adult Nutrition for Abbott in the UK, explains why muscle mass is essential for making the most of your health. BMI first became popular in the 1970s as a way to assess the prevalence of obesity across large, diverse populations for tracking long term trends. A new review published in Annals of Medicine reached similar conclusions. Muscle mass predicts health outcomes in cancer patients For example, athletes whose muscular physique misleads the scale could end up being erroneously classified as overweight. We also need to think about their muscles. What is important is to avoid processed, sugary foods as much as possible and focus on … muscle mass plays a huge role in health outcomes. It’s time that the way we measure health caught up to the advancements that are being made in technology and research. I am a member of SarQoL ( ( Sarcopenia and Quality of Life : SarQoL.org) and have translated the SarQoL Questionnaire into two top Indian Languages namely Hindi and Marathi . Simple exercises with weights can make a big difference. Health professionals can also perform simple physical function tests like a walking test or chair stand tests to get a sense of patients’ muscle health and mobility. In the news: Do fitness trackers actually make you healthier? In addition, both CT scans and MRIs can provide information on body composition, which may be helpful for people with cancer, cardiac disease and other conditions that require them to routinely undergo these types of imaging studies. You have entered an incorrect email address! Keeping a pulse on muscle health is an easy way for healthcare professionals to help improve their patients’ health. No worries if the gym crowd and CrossFit rage aren’t for you. Do I struggle to stand from a chair or carry objects. Regular resistance exercise is an effective way to increase muscle mass and strength, alongside good nutrition. Muscles play a vital role in health at all stages of life, from physical strength to wound healing. She currently serves as the Abbott representative to the ‘FNIH- sarcopenia Biomarker Consortium’, a group dedicated to developing a consensus definition of sarcopenia and driving awareness. The more we know about our body composition, the more we can take simple, educated steps to maintain a healthy and active life at any age. There are a number of questionnaires that can be used that are specifically designed to help evaluate the physical function of aging adults. In fact, nearly 1 in 5 people have a misleading BMI, according to the CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. From physical strength to organ function, muscles play a vital role in your health and fitness at every stage of life. Just like you need oxygen to breathe, you need to nourish your muscles with protein and vitamin D to combat the breakdown as you recover. Protein should only account for 10-35% of an adult’s daily caloric intake. Trying (and failing) to get fit? The National Institutes of Health provides a rough estimate of desirable body weight for height. Our muscles play a vital role in our health at all stages of life, from allowing movement and balance to contributing to physical strength, organ function, skin integrity, immunity and wound healing. The review showed that people with less muscle mass had more surgical and post-operative complications, longer hospital stays, lower physical function, poorer quality of life and overall lower survival. Tips for getting strong and staying healthy • Cardio is not always king. Muscle mass represents the weight of skeletal muscle and can make up to 40 percent of your body weight. She is also a co-inventor on over 80 filed patents. Yet, BMI ignores major individual health factors like age, chronic conditions, and physical activity level. Oncologists often encourage desserts for patients with cachexia. Make sure you’re not just focused on burning calories with cardio. Good sources of protein include meat, fish, eggs, nuts and beans. So this research should compel doctors to make measuring muscle mass a priority when formulating their treatment plans for cancer patients. The review showed that people with less muscle mass had more surgical and post-operative complications, longer hospital stays, lower physical function, poorer quality of life and overall lower survival. You can keep me in your mailing list as far as ‘ Sarcopenia ‘ is concerned. Patients ranged from trauma patients to individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Proper nutrition is also an important factor in maintaining muscle mass. But what if we told you to throw away the scales and focus on a different aspect of body composition? There are other, simple ways to get a sense of someone’s muscle health. So it’s important to do what we can to protect and preserve our muscles. You ought to get above eight miles an afternoon to quite see a change. Aim to include a high protein food in at least two meals a day. Measuring muscle mass is currently more difficult than calculating BMI. Additionally, BMI is just based on body weight and does not differentiate between fat mass and muscle mass (also known as body composition). It examined 140 recent studies in inpatient, outpatient, and long-term care settings. She has led preclinical studies to identify key ingredients (such as HMB) that can prevent muscle wasting. Prior to joining Abbott, Suzette obtained her Ph.D. and carried out post-doctoral research in the Department of Microbiology at the Ohio State University. Netdoctor participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. Most doctors use BMI to assess health, which is overlooking a major vital sign – muscle mass. It’s OK to mix in a few treats in moderation, but make sure to include good sources of protein at every meal like lean meats, eggs, dairy and beans. This technology also has the ability to break down one’s body composition into fat and lean mass in a matter of minutes. The NIH's calculation for ideal weight doesn’t account for differences in body frame size. Because BMI doesn’t account for someone’s muscle mass, it overlooks this important health indicator entirely.

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