I Thought Aging Was Subtle... "Muscular Strength Drops Sharply From This Age"

It has been found that physical abilities such as stamina, muscular strength, and muscular endurance begin to decline around the age of 35. However, the study confirmed that even adults who start exercising later can improve their physical abilities. According to Science Daily on May 15 (local time), a research team at Sweden's Karolinska Institute reported in a paper published in the international journal Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle that "stamina, muscular strength, and muscular endurance begin to decline around the age of 35, and physical activity helps slow down this rate of decline." This study was conducted as part of the Swedish Physical Activity and Fitness Study (SPAF). The researchers repeatedly measured physical fitness, muscular strength, and other factors over about 47 years in 427 members of the general Swedish population (48% women) born in 1958, starting from age 16 and continuing through age 63. Most previous studies have used cross-sectional methods comparing different age groups. However, this study repeatedly tracked the same participants over several decades. The researchers explained that this approach allowed them to more clearly determine how the body changes during adulthood and old age. According to the results, stamina began to decline around age 35 regardless of prior exercise experience. The decline tended to accelerate as participants got older. Not only stamina, but also muscular strength and muscular endurance showed similar patterns of decline. However, the researchers also confirmed the positive effects of exercise. Participants who began physical activity in adulthood experienced an improvement in physical abilities by about 5–10%. Maria Westerstahl, a researcher at the Karolinska Institute who led the study, said, "It's never too late to start exercising. Physical activity can slow the decline in performance, but it cannot completely prevent it." The research team plans to conduct additional follow-up surveys when the participants reach age 68. In future studies, they intend to analyze how lifestyle habits, health status, and biological factors affect changes in physical abilities throughout a lifetime.