PhD Conferral Marika Leenders, MSc

“Exercise and nutrition to support healthy aging”

Keywords: sarcopenia, prevention, treatment, power training, protein supplementation

The aging process involves loss of muscle mass and muscular strength, also known as sarcopenia. This dissertation shows that power training is the most effective strategy to increase muscle mass and muscle strength as well as physical function in healthy elderly people. Although leucine or protein supplementation were not found to have any (additional) effect, this may result from the fact that the elderly people included in the studies already had a high (healthy) habitual protein intake.

It was concluded that with the right attitude and proper support power training in healthy elderly people can make a vital contribution to reducing or even preventing sarcopenia. A more active elderly population will result in a reduction in health care costs and an increased level of independence. Consequently, the general feeling of wellbeing will improve dramatically. In other words, investments need to be made in a structure which stimulates elderly people to become more active, allowing a more healthy aging process.