“AGE PROOF” by Professor Rose Anne Kenny

I am fifty-two years old, and I am interested in the process of aging.
Therefore I read books written by specialists who:
– explain what is happening to our bodies while we are aging
– describe the research done so far on aging
– and they show us what we can do to remain active even as we grow old.

The book “Age Proof,” written by Rose Anne Kenny, Professor of medical gerontology, was one I liked a lot. 
And the reason I liked it so much was that the Professor is a keen believer in doing sports, no matter the age.

“Sarcopenia is closely aligned with physical activity and exercise.
Its name comes from the Greek words sarx and penia, signifying <<loss of flesh>>, which is indicative of the core features of sarcopenia–skeletal muscle loss.

It is a progressive and generalised ageing muscle disease characterised by loss in muscle mass, weaker muscle strength and infiltration of muscles with fat.

The main factors that cause sarcopenia are ageing, chronic disease, low physical activity and poor nutrition.
We loose 15 percent of muscle strength due to decline in muscle mass every ten years after age 50.
This loss in strength accelerates after the age of 70.

This is why it becomes even more important to increase exercise, not decrease it with age and to ensure that we both do aerobic and resistant exercises.
We have to work much harder after age 50 and harder again after 70 to prevent age-related sarcopenia.”

I found extraordinary the example of Charles Eugster, a retired dentist, who, at eighty-seven years old, started to train himself for bodybuilding competitions and did well.
And at ninety-three years old gave a speech at TED talks about the importance of work, diet, and exercise.

Kindle, 2023