USE THEM OR LOSE THEM…
SARCOPENIA? Sounds like a nasty rash! If this is your first reaction on hearing the term, you’re in the majority. Apart from medical experts, very few people could identify this common health condition by its proper name. Yet it’s something all of us will experience – men and women of all ages. In case you were wondering, the term comes from the Greek words sarc, meaning ‘flesh’ and penia meaning ‘not enough of’. This mysteriously named condition is, in fact, muscle loss. We may not give it a second thought in our 30s, 40s and 50s, but as we reach retirement age, it puts us at risk of falling and of losing independence. So what causes it and can we reverse any of its effects?