(New York Times) Why muscles wither with age is captivating a growing number of scientists, drug and food companies, let alone aging baby boomers…

Researchers involved in the effort say doctors and patients need to be more aware that muscle deterioration is a major reason the elderly lose mobility and cannot live independently…

Experts say the best approach to restoring or maintaining muscle mass and strength is exercise, particularly resistance training.

The National Institute on Aging is now sponsoring a controlled trial to test whether exercise can prevent disability in largely sedentary people, age 70 to 89. There is also some early evidence that nutrition, like vitamin D or high levels of protein, might help. “At this point, what we can say is that older people are at risk for eating too little protein for adequate muscle preservation,” said Dr. Elena Volpi.

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