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Bidirectional association of daily steps with sarcopenia: a longitudinal study
Yilun Wang1,2,3, Ziying Wu1, Yuqing Zhang4,5
1Department of Orthopaedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Annals of Medicine
|August 26, 2025
Summary
Daily step count and sarcopenia have a two-way relationship. Increasing daily steps, particularly to around 5,000, may help prevent sarcopenia development.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Exercise Physiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Step count is a key physical activity metric, but its link with sarcopenia is not fully understood.
- This lack of clarity hinders step-based interventions for sarcopenia prevention.
- Investigating the bidirectional association is crucial for public health guidance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the directional relationship between daily step count and sarcopenia.
- To determine if daily steps predict incident sarcopenia.
- To assess if sarcopenia influences future daily step counts.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study (2020-2022) with 1,281 participants.
- Daily steps tracked via smartphone; sarcopenia diagnosed using Asian Workgroup of Sarcopenia 2019 criteria.
- Two-wave cross-lagged panel model and logistic regression analyzed associations.
Main Results:
- A significant bidirectional association was found between daily steps and sarcopenia.
- Fewer steps predicted future sarcopenia, and sarcopenia predicted fewer future steps.
- Each SD increase in daily steps lowered incident sarcopenia risk (aOR=0.28); 4,888 steps was optimal.
Conclusions:
- A bidirectional inverse relationship exists between daily steps and sarcopenia.
- Increasing daily steps, aiming for approximately 5,000, may help prevent sarcopenia.
- Further research should explore interventions and the impact of sarcopenia reversal on physical activity.
