The significance of sarcopenia in relation to health

Sarcopenia is a lack of skeletal muscle. Knowledge of this condition is incomplete because an accurate method for the measurement of total muscle mass is lacking. In the absence of such a method, regional measurements are used commonly. When these are based on anthropometry, the values are inaccurate, but they are important because of their relationships to risk factors for some diseases and because large amounts of data are available. It is suggested that low values for the body mass index IBMI) indicate low values for fat-free mass (FFM) of which muscle is known to be a major constituent. Furthermore, low values for the BMI and the circumferences or areas of arm muscle are associated with increased mortality rates.