A lifelong approach to muscle resilience: implications for policy and practice

Abstract

A lack of muscle resilience across the life course is contributing to a significant and growing health and social care burden, health disparities, and economic disadvantage, through early exit from the workplace. Addressing this crisis with a preventative mindset to improve muscle development and counteract loss at critical stages throughout life will yield important benefits: during childhood development and adolescence to improve physical and mental health; during adulthood to reduce sickness absence, enhance productivity and retain people in the workforce; into later life to reduce frailty-associated ill health and retain greater independence in old age