MAINTAINING muscle mass

It's never too late to start strength training

- Amber Bramble.

You may not have thought a lot about your muscle mass before now, but as we get older it becomes increasingly important for protecting our wellbeing.

Dr Anthony Villani, lecturer in nutrition and dietetics at the University of the Sunshine Coast, says that muscle loss is associated with a range of age-related diseases, including metabolic diseases, frailty, falls, and fractures.

Thankfully there are ways we can preserve and even rebuild muscles - and it's never too late to get started. "Quality of life is key as we age," Dr Villani explains. "Not only do we want to live longer, but we want to be able to live with a really good quality of life."

WHY IT HAPPENS

Like many things, muscle loss is a part of natural ageing. Dr Villani says this generally begins between the ages of 30 and 40.

"From that point, we're going to get a decline of about one per cent in our muscle per year," he explains.

"That doesn't sound like a lot, but by the time we turn roughly the age of 70, accumulatively we're going to have lost around half our muscle mass."

There are two steps we can take to stop this from happening - which can be boiled down to diet and exercise.

"When it comes to maintaining your muscle mass and muscle health in general, the old saying goes that exercise is king, nutrition is queen and together they form a kingdom," says Dr Villani.