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Physical activity and exercise as countermeasures to physical frailty and sarcopenia

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Abstract

The identification of cost-effective interventions that improve the health status and prevent disability in old age is one of the most important public health challenges. Regular physical activity is the only intervention that has consistently been shown to improve functional health and energy balance and to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, several cancers, depression and falls. In advanced age, physical activity is also effective at mitigating sarcopenia, restoring robustness, and preventing/delaying the development of disability. On the other hand, physical inactivity is recognized as one of the leading causes of several chronic degenerative diseases and is also a major contributing factor to sarcopenia and functional disability. This compelling evidence has prompted the World Health Organization to recommend engaging in regular physical activity throughout one’s life course. The present review summarizes the available evidence in support of physical activity as a remedy against physical frailty and sarcopenia. The relevant pathways through which the benefits of physical activity are conveyed are also discussed.

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Acknowledgements

The present work was funded by a grant from the Innovative Medicines Initiative—Joint Undertaking (IMI-JU 115621). The work was also partly supported by the “Centro Studi Achille e Linda Lorenzon” (E.M., R.C.), Fondazione Roma (NCDs Call for Proposals 2013; E.M., R.C.), and intramural research grants from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart (D3.2 2013 and D3.2 2015; E.M., F.L., M.T., R.C.).

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Correspondence to Emanuele Marzetti or Francesco Landi.

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All of the authors are partners of the SPRINTT consortium, which is partly funded by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). E.M. served as a consultant for Huron Consulting Group, Genactis, and Novartis. M.C. served as a consultant for and/or received honoraria for scientific presentations from Nestlé.

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Marzetti, E., Calvani, R., Tosato, M. et al. Physical activity and exercise as countermeasures to physical frailty and sarcopenia. Aging Clin Exp Res 29, 35–42 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-016-0705-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-016-0705-4

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