Did you know that at the age of 40, adults can lose up to eight per cent of their muscle mass per decade and after 70, that rate almost doubles?
For millennials who have to navigate the complexities of modern living like demanding careers to juggling family obligations, this leads to a sedentary trap due to desk-jobs, binge-marathons and simply not having enough time to exercise.
This sedentary trap which involves inactive lifestyles on muscle health among millennials, is a growing concern.
“They (millennials) are not moving as much as they should. There is very little activity, and in that you lose muscle,” said Malaysian Healthy Ageing Society president Professor Dr Shahrul Bahyah Kamaruzzaman.
Muscle loss as you age is inevitable, but one way to decrease the risk of future health complications is by taking care of your diet and by exercising.
“You have to consume a nutritious diet. Fast food is a common choice of diet but it might not be nutritionally complete.
“In fast food and processed food, there are a lot of additives and preservatives. This is why this generation is at risk of a lot of non-communicable diseases such as heart disease and high cholesterol.
“Compare it with our grandparents’ generation, the loss of muscle mass among them was due to normal ageing,” she said at an event hosted by Abbott and MHAS to raise awareness of the importance of muscle to support older adults and help build a healthy ageing community in Malaysia.
Malaysian adults need to pay attention to their muscle health.
