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2023
HMB and Regular Resistance Exercise May Improve Sarcopenia in Older Adults

HMB and Regular Resistance Exercise May Improve Sarcopenia in Older Adults

A study published in the May 2023 issue of The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging¹ found that dietary HMB intake, along with regular resistance exercise, helped improve handgrip strength, gait speed, muscle quality, and a measure of leg strength and endurance in men and women aged 60 and older with sarcopenia.

The trial included 34 men and women diagnosed with this disease, which is a progressive loss of muscle mass, strength and function. Participants received a placebo or 1.5 grams calcium HMB twice per day for 12 weeks, and all engaged in twice weekly supervised resistance training.

Participants who received HMB demonstrated significant improvement in hand grip strength after 12 weeks, while those in the placebo group experienced a decline. Gait speed, ability to stand repeatedly from a seated position, muscle quality and a marker of inflammation improved in the HMB-treated group compared to the placebo group.

"HMB intake can enhance the effect of resistance exercise training on muscle strength, physical performance and muscle quality in older adults with sarcopenia," C. Yang of Southwest Medical University in China and colleagues noted. "Therefore, HMB intake could be an effective treatment."

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Apply What You’ve Learned: Sarcopenia

Sarcopenia is a form of muscle wasting that is common during aging but can also occur earlier in life.² In addition to older individuals, men, smokers, and people at a lower body mass index are at an increased risk of sarcopenia.³
Muscle loss is associated with age-related testosterone decline. Many older men and women have their blood regularly tested for testosterone and other hormone levels and, with the assistance of their health care providers, can restore hormones to youthful levels with treatment.
Regular exercise, particularly resistance training, helps maintain muscle mass and general health.⁴
Getting adequate protein is key to maintaining muscle health, and whey protein can fill in dietary gaps for those who don’t get enough from their diets. Studies that have combined whey protein with the amino acid leucine and vitamin D have shown benefits in individuals with sarcopenia.^5,6

References

Yang C et al. J Nutr Health Aging. 2023;27(5):329-339.
Cruz-Jentoft AJ et al. Age Ageing. 2019 Jan 1;48(1):16-31.
Wu LC et al. Medicine (Baltimore). 2021 May 14;100(19):e25946.
Lu L et al. BMC Geriatr. 2021 Dec 15;21(1):708.
Chang MC et al. Nutrients. 2023 Jan 19;15(3):521.
Cereda E et al. Nutrients. 2022 Apr 6;14(7):1524.

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