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Pictured here: aging progression. Please notice
that in the 67-year-old there is a smaller muscle mass,
increased intra-muscular fat, larger subcutaneous fat, and
decreasted cortical bone mass.
Age-related decline in lean body mass affects functional
capacity of older adults:
-- Men experience a decline in body mass almost 2X
that of women
-- If sarcopenia were completely eliminated,
o) 85.5% of the disability cases
in older men would be eliminated
o) 26% in older women would be
eliminated
Natural aging produces a strength decline of 10% a decade
-- with an accelerated loss when reaching the age of 50
years.
-- Exercise can slow this decline
-- Lack of activity increases this rate
THE SLIPPERY SLOPE OF
AGING 
Without exercise, aging is accompanied by a slippery
slope of decreased vigor, as seen in the first curve in image
to the right. With exercise --and the correct
exercise-- physical therapists can help their patients
stay in the "fun" category with all the requisite vigor and
energy as they age, as illustrated by the lines with arrow in
the image. | 
