Muscle power and nutrition

Sarcopenia, as defined by the European working group on sarcopenia in older people (EWGSOP), is a highly prevalent syndrome characterized by age-related loss of muscle mass and muscle strength/power with impacts on physical function, health and quality of life in older people. The complex, multifaceted and still not completely elucidated etiology of sarcopenia and loss of muscle function (dynapenia) poses challenges for the design of interventional studies to combat loss of muscle strength. Several factors, however, have been demonstrated to have major impacts for maintenance of physiological muscle functioning, including nutrition and in particular specific nutrients. For example, proteins, amino acids and micronutrients have been extensively studied regarding their impact on muscle synthesis and metabolism. This literature review focuses on the impact of nutrition on muscle strength and power as it relates to older people given that muscle changes with age can have important implications for health.