Meet the jury: Active and Healthy Ageing – with a specific focus on sarcopenia and physical activity, Prof. Sarianna Sipilä, University of Jyväskylä

You are kindly invited to the Meet the jury lecture on Prof. Sarianna Sipilä, University of Jyväskylä, Finland on Active and Healthy Ageing – with a specific focus on sarcopenia and physical activity

Date: 30 September, 15h00
Venue:  Aula Gebouw de Nayer (01.01, first floor) at Faber, the sports campus – Tervuursevest 101, 3001 Heverlee
Registration link: https://forms.gle/mKRnPgd9jvChAtFc8

About the lecture
Sarcopenia is a disease of the skeletal muscles caused by adverse changes in neuromuscular system that accrue across a lifetime. Sarcopenia is common among older adults but can also exist earlier in life. The diagnosis of sarcopenia has developed over decades; based on current European consensus on definition and diagnosis of sarcopenia, low muscle strength has overtaken the role of low muscle mass as a principal determinant.
Sarcopenia is associated with number of adversities such as falls and fractures, disabilities, cardiac and respiratory diseases, and cognitive impairment. In addition, earlier studies have shown that sarcopenia leads to mobility impairment and disability, lowered quality of life and loss of independence. Due to these serious consequences, prevention and treatment of sarcopenia is of great importance.
Several promising pharmaceutical products are currently being evaluated by pre-clinical trials, but resistance training is still the first-line treatment option for sarcopenia. Resistance training interventions have been shown to increase, on an average level, muscle mass and strength in older healthy and clinical populations, but there is considerable variation in training response. Moreover, there is still limited number of clinical trials on the effects of resistance training in older adults with sarcopenia. More research is needed to determine how sarcopenia can be most effectively prevented and treated and how research finding could be translated into clinical practice.

About the speaker
Sarianna Sipilä is Professor of Exercise Gerontology and Dean of the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. A leading authority in her field, she investigates the functional capacity of older adults with a particular focus on the musculoskeletal system, mobility, and the role of physical activity and lifestyle interventions in promoting this. Prof. Sipilä has an extensive record of influential publications in aging, muscle physiology, and exercise science, and her research has contributed significantly to advancing knowledge in these areas.

Contact: Pauline<dot>Hotterbeex<at>kuleuven<dot>be