Sarcopenia, defined as an age-associated loss of skeletal muscle function and muscle mass, occurs in approximately 6 - 22 % of older adults. This paper presents evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for screening, diagnosis and management of sarcopenia from the task force of the International Conference on Sarcopenia and Frailty Research (ICSFR).

The objective of the present study is to evaluate and compare the effect of a nutritional intervention between adolescent and adult. In a before and after quasi-experimental clinical study, 32 athletes (21 adults, age range 20–32 years; 11 adolescents, age range: 12–19 years) participated in a nutritional counselling consisting of four consultations separated by an interval of 45 to 60 days. The athlete’s eating behaviour, body composition and nutrition knowledge were evaluated at the beginning and at the end of the protocol. Both groups increased lean body mass and nutritional knowledge. Adolescents increased their mid-arm muscle circumference and improved meal frequency, and daily water intake. Athletes of both groups improved their ingestion of vegetables and fruits and decreased the ingestion of sweets and oils. Adolescents showed a higher prevalence of individuals that remained within or approached to the recommendations of sweets. This is the first study to evaluate and compare the effect of a nutritional intervention between adolescent and adult athletes body composition, eating behaviour and nutritional knowledge. The nutritional counselling has been effective in promoting beneficial changes on the athlete’s eating behaviour, nutritional knowledge and body composition, however, some healthy changes were only experienced by adolescents, especially in the frequency of meals and the intake of sweets.

Reduction of lean mass is a primary body composition change associated with aging. Because many factors contribute to lean mass reduction, the problem has been given various names depending on the proposed cause, such as "age-related sarcopenia," "dynapenia," "myopenia," "sarcopenic obesity," or simply "sarcopenia." There is currently no consensus on how to best diagnose the reduction of lean mass and its consequences on health. We propose that simple body composition methods can be used to indirectly evaluate sarcopenia, provided that those techniques are validated against the "quality of lean" criterion that associates muscle mass and metabolic function with the components of fat-free mass. Promising field methods include the use of stable isotopes for the evaluation of water compartments and new approaches to bioelectrical impedance analysis, which is also associated with the monitoring of water homeostasis.

We hypothesize that improvements in the gut microbiota are capable of ameliorating gut permeability and, consequently, reducing systemic inflammation and the risk of frailty. This study aims to evaluate some effects of synbiotic supplementation on inflammatory markers and the body composition of the elderly at risk of frailty. In a double-blind study that lasted three months, 17 elderly individuals fulfilling one frailty criteria (grip strength) were randomly distributed into two groups: SYN (n = 9), daily intake of synbiotic (6 g Frutooligossacarides, 10⁸ to 10⁹ CFU Lactobacillus paracasei, 10⁸ to 10⁹ CFU Lactobacillus rhamnosus, 10⁸ to 10⁹ CFU Lactobacillus acidophilus and 10⁸ to 10⁹ CFU Bifidobacterium lactis), or placebo (maltodextrin; PLA; n = 8). Subjects were analyzed for anthropometric measurements, bioelectric impedance with vectorial analysis (BIVA), IL-6 and TNF-α. A comparison between groups did not show any difference for the variables investigated. In turn, individual analysis of electrical impedance (BIVA) demonstrated that the majority of SYN individuals maintained or improved their tissue hydration, when compared to the PLA group after supplementation. In conclusion, three months of synbiotic supplementation did not promote any significant changes in inflammatory cytokines or body composition, but demonstrated a trend towards a preservation of hydration status in apparently healthy elderly individuals.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the effect of a symbiotic substance on symptoms of brain disorders and inflammation in the elderly. Methods: Forty-nine elders, both genders, assigned into two groups: S-group (synbiotic) and P-group (placebo). Evaluations at the beginning and at the end of the experiment: geriatric depressive symptoms scale-15 (GDS-15); mini-mental status examination (MMSE); % of body fat (%fat); serum IL-6, TNF-α and IL-10; serum diamine-oxidase (DAO), intestinal fatty-acid binding protein (IFABP), and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Results: Both groups had reduced their %Fat, TNF-α, and DAO. The IL-6, GDS-15, and MMSE were increased in both groups. IL-10 was significantly increased only in the S-group, and LPS was significantly reduced only in the P-group. The GDS-15final was negatively explained by DAO, IL-10, TNF-α, %Fat, being woman, and being allocated in the P-group. The variables that positively explained the GDS-15final were the IL-6, the IFABP, and the LPS. MMSEfinal was positively associated with the IL-10, DAO, being woman, and being allocated in the P-group; and negatively associated with IL-6, TNF-α, %Fat, IFABP, and LPS. Conclusions: We found weak effects of symbiotic on depressive symptoms and more optimistic effects on cognition in apparently healthy elderly. Other studies, with individuals diagnosed with depressive morbidity or cognitive decline, are needed. Registration of Clinical Studies – REBEC (RBR-6qr9xx)].