"Calp thinning" Don t be happy to lose weight first. The latest research indicates that it may be a sign of common diseases in the elderly.

When you find that your calf is getting thinner, don't be too excited too early. This may not be a simple thinning, but an alarm message from your body. The latest research points out that the reduction in the calf may be a sign of a decline in muscle mass, which is closely related to sarcopenia, risk of falls in the elderly, and disease.

Is the calf change a warning? Research reveals that skeletal muscle mass will gradually decrease with age as people with age fall, which is the potential cause of falling or suffering from multiple diseases. Researcher Kawakami Konori from the Institute of Physical Laboratory of Akihito, the legal person of the public welfare group, and Professor Kaori Kawasaki of Waseda University and other professors Kaori Tani of the School of Sports Science of Waseda University, published in the journal Clinical Nutrition ESPEN, pointed out that there is a significant positive correlation between the changes in calf perimeter and the changes in muscle mass throughout the body. The

research team conducted a directional study of 227 Japanese adults aged 40 to 87 years. The subjects measured the circumference of the double foot calf twice in a standing position, and the average value was taken for analysis; at the same time, the double energy X-ray absorption method (DXA) was used to measure the muscle mass changes in the limbs. The results of

show that the overall average tracking period was 8 years, and the average change in calf circumference during the period was – 0.1± 1.2 cm, and the average change in muscle mass of limbs was – 0.7± 1.0 kg. Regardless of men and women, the calf area and the changes in muscle mass of the limbs are highly positively correlated.

Further, the research team divided the subjects into middle-aged groups (under 60 years old), high-aged groups (over 60 years old), obese and non-obese groups according to age and body fat rate. The results also show a high degree of correlation.

Early discovery of sarcopenia helps prolong health and life

Research team pointed out that this is the first study in the world that has confirmed the correlation between calf scope and muscle mass changes. Regardless of age or obesity, changes in calf circumference can effectively reflect the increase and decrease of limb muscles.

This result shows that by regularly measuring calf circumference, anyone can easily grasp whether they have muscle loss, which is important for early detection and prevention of sarcopenia. The decline in muscle strength and weight will affect the quality of life, but this is not irreversible. As long as you intervene early, any age can be improved.

The subjects of this study were mainly from Waseda University alumni and their spouses, and the sample representativeness may be limited; in addition, the small number of samples in some subgroups may also affect the stability of the analytical results. Even so, this study still provides a key new indicator for the global health aging topic, and may hope to include "calf range measurement" in daily health and aging monitoring data.