Anthropometric, physical function and general health markers of Masters athletes: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Once the general decline in muscle mass, muscle strength and physical performance falls below specific thresholds, the middle aged or older adult will be diagnosed as having sarcopenia (a loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength). Sarcopenia contributes to a range of adverse events in older age including disability, hospitalisation, institutionalisation and falls. One potentially relevant but understudied population for sarcopenia researchers would be Masters athletes. Masters sport is becoming more common as it allows athletes (typically 40 years and older) the opportunity to participate in individual and/or team sports against individuals of similar age. This study examined a variety of measures of anthropometric, physical function and general health markers in the male and female Masters athletes who competed at the 2014 Pan Pacific Masters Games held on the Gold Coast, Australia. Bioelectrical impedance analysis was used to collect body fat percentage, fat mass and fat-free mass; with body mass, height, body mass index (BMI) and sarcopenic status also recorded. Physical function was quantified by handgrip strength and habitual walking speed; with general health described by the number of chronic diseases and prescribed medications. Between group analyses utilised ANOVA and Tukey's post-hoc tests to examine the effect of age group (40-49, 50-59, 60-69 and >70 years old) on the outcome measures for the entire sample as well as the male and female sub-groups. A total of 156 athletes (78 male, 78 female; mean 55.7 years) provided informed consent to participate in this study. These athletes possessed substantially better anthropometric, physical function and general health characteristics than the literature for their less physically active age-matched peers. No Masters athletes were categorised as being sarcopenic, although one participant had below normal physical performance and six participants had below normal muscle strength. In contrast, significant age-related reductions in handgrip strength and increases in the number of chronic diseases and prescribed medications were observed for the overall cohort as well as the male and female sub-groups. Nevertheless, even those aged over 70How to cite this article Fien et al. (2017), Anthropometric, physical function and general health markers of Masters athletes: a crosssectional study. PeerJ 5:e3768; DOI 10.7717/peerj.3768 years only averaged one chronic disease and one prescribed medication. These results may suggest that participation in Masters sport helps to maintain anthropometry, physical function and general health in middle-aged and older adults. However, it is also possible that only healthier middle-aged and older adults with favourable body composition and physical function may be able to participate in Masters sport. Future research should therefore utilise longitudinal research designs to determine the health and functional benefits of Master sports participation for middle-aged and older adults.

Stability of Lifestyle Behavior – The Answer to Successful Cognitive Aging? A Comparison of Nuns, Monks, Master Athletes and Non-active Older Adults

“…When compared to the Schienkiewitz et al (2017) BMI data, it was apparent that Master Athletes (75%) and sedentary controls (50%), but not nuns/monks (40%) have a higher proportion of individuals with a BMI indicative of underweight or normal compared to the general German population in this age group (40%). Such results were similar with previous research that demonstrated a healthy BMI in Master Athletes (Fien et al, 2017) and nuns/monks (Bennett et al, 2018). Another essential aspect of preserving health and function in older adults is the ability to maintain muscle mass and power.…”

“…Inspection of other health-related indicated that only 1.7% of our sample took three medications per day, and 3.3% had a GDS score of 5. 40% of the sedentary controls and 30% of the nuns/monks are engaged in exercise once or twice a week for at least 30 min; Master Athletes exercise twice (45%), three (35%) or five times (20%) a week for at least 60 min, which is similar to data reported by Fien et al (2017). Eighty-five percent of the group of nuns/monks report daily leisure or gardening activities for at least 30 min each day; Master Athletes as well as sedentary controls are less active with 65%, respectively 50%.…”

Sarcopenic Characteristics of Active Older Adults: A Cross-sectional Exploration.

“…This prevalence for sarcopenia is substantially lower than the 1-29% reported rates for community dwelling adults over the age of 50 years (39). A similar study by Fien, Climstein (40) found that in a cohort of 156 Master's athletes, 3.8% were considered to be below the sarcopenic HGS cut-off points. The difference in results is likely due to the larger sample size and the higher level of training of the Masters' athletes compared to the more recreationally active older adults used in the current study.…”

Lower Percentage of Fat Mass among Tai Chi Chuan Practitioners

“…Physical activity has been shown to contribute substantially to the maintenance of the individual physiological and psychological well-being in all phases of life [3]. In the elderly, physical exercise can slow down or even reverse the trend towards sarcopenia [4,5]. However, which kind of physical activity could provide the more beneficial effects is still unclear and needs to be studied in depth [3].…”