The loss of skeletal muscle mass, strength, and function with age are contributing risk factors for the onset of sarcopenia, frailty, osteoporosis, fractures, and mortality. Nutrition may affect the progression and trajectory of these changes in skeletal muscle but the role of the micronutrient-rich Mediterranean diet (MD) has hardly been investigated in relation to these muscle outcomes. Kelaidi E et al. (1) examined associations between the Mediterranean diet score (MDS) and muscle mass, hand grip strength, and leg explosive power (LEP, watts/kg) in a cross-sectional study in 2570 women aged 18-79 years from the TwinsUK study. Measurements of body composition were made using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and dietary intake assessed by a food frequency questionnaire. Higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet was positively associated with measurements of muscle outcomes, comparing extreme quartiles of intake, but not with grip strength or CRP concentrations. For the first time in a northern European population, authors have observed significant positive associations between the MDS and FFM% and LEP in healthy women that are potentially clinically relevant, independent of the factors known to influence muscle outcomes. Our findings emphasize the potential
(1) Osteoporos Int. 2016 Jul 14