The Study
Ten‐year longitudinal changes in muscle power, force, and velocity in young, middle‐aged, and older adults
This study watched the same group of people for 10 years to see how their leg strength and speed changed as they got older. It shows a clear link between aging and losing muscle power, but it can't prove that aging is the only reason why this happens.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
This study looked at how fast and strong people's legs get over 10 years as they age. It found that leg power goes down slowly when we're young but faster when we're older, especially after 60.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 546 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes, this matters because leg power affects walking, balance, and independence.
- 2Losing it faster increases fall and frailty risk.
- 3Leg power goes down by about 0.6% per year in young adults, 1.1–1.4% in middle age, and 2.2–2.4% after 60.
- 4Moving slower and weaker legs causes this.
- 5Being more active helps slow the loss.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle
Year
2023
Authors
Julian Alcazar, Carlos Rodríguez-López, C. Delecluse, M. Thomis, E. Van Roie
Related Content
Claims (6)
As people get older, their leg muscle power slowly gets weaker — and it starts to drop faster after age 60. A long-term study found that this loss speeds up with age and could be a sign of overall physical decline as we get older.
As people in their younger and middle years get older, their muscle power relative to body weight drops faster than total muscle power—partly because BMI tends to go up, making it harder to stay strong for your size.
As people get older, their muscles get worse at staying strong when moving quickly — and this gets worse by about 0.1% each year after middle age.
As we get older, we lose certain powerful muscle fibers faster than others, which can lead to weakness, falls, and trouble moving around — and this muscle decline can actually show how fast someone is aging on the inside.
As people get older, their muscles lose power — but how that happens changes over time. Younger adults mostly lose strength, while older adults lose both strength and speed, meaning different things go wrong in the body as we age.
Staying active as you get older might help keep your leg strength from decreasing as quickly.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.