[Sarcopenia in relation to locomotive syndrome and frailty]

One of the features of a change in our body composition with aging is a loss of muscle mass, which is called "sarcopenia" . This change may lead seniors to be dependent anothers for some activities in their daily lives. Although sarcopenia was primarily defined as a loss of muscle mass with aging, the definition has been changing and evolving to include either muscle weakness or decreased muscle performance with low muscle mass to attach greater importance to practical functions. Sarcopenia is thought to be one of the core features of frail status and also one of the causal diseases of locomotive syndrome which was proposed by the Japanese Orthopaedic Association in 2007. In our preliminary study, sarcopenia was related to a decreased sense of balance and the incidence of sarcopenia was higher in frailer seniors.