Abstrakt
Increasing age is associated with both cumulative amounts of health complications and with the gradual deterioration of neuromuscular function, leading to disturbances of mobility and decrease self-sufficiency. A significant influence of older persons on reduced self-sufficiency has a volume loss of skeletal muscle mass contingent by biological age - the so-called involutional sarcopenia.
It is characterized by a decrease in muscle strength on the basis of degeneration, atrophy and death of muscle fibers, decreased muscle protein synthesis and mitochondrial dysfunction. From 40 years of age is on average a 5 % loss of muscle mass per decade, and its replacement by adipose tissue.
After 65 years, the loss even greater. Age related loss of muscle mass is slowly but inexorably progressive process with adverse consequences for the quality of senior's life.
The exercise program appropriate to the current status of elderly is one of the tools that can significantly affect the aging. The benefits of the sort can be a substantial reduction in the loss of muscle mass, slowing deficit of neuromuscular function, communication, improve mobility and quality of life.
After application of physical intervention based on walking in the duration of 5 months with an average energy intensity of 900 kcal / week in a group of 58 healthy women with a mean age of 68.7 +/- 5.0 year, we achieved an average 5 % increase in free fat mass and 12 % increase in cardiovascular fitness state and motor performance. If we evaluate the current status of biological age, seniors are about 5 years "younger" than peers without regular movement load.