banner.jpg Circumference and Muscle Cross-Sectional Area of the Thigh and Calf in Elderly Japanese People Satoshi Muraki1,Hiroki Nakashima 2, Kiyotaka Fukumoto3 and Osamu Fukuda4 1 Faculty of Design, Kyushu University, Japan. 2Graduate School of Design, Kyushu University, Japan. 3Faculty of Engineering, Shizuoka University, Japan. 4National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Saga, Japan. ABSTRACT

The present study investigated age-related changes in leg circumference, and muscle cross-sectional area (MCA) in the legs. Methods: Four hundred and fifty Japanese adults (219 males and 231 females) were separated into 4 age groups (20s and 30s combined, 60s, 70s, and 80s) for each gender. We measured body height, body weight, body mass index, and thigh and calf circumference, as well as MCA in the thigh and calf, using an ultrasound system we have developed. Results and discussion: All of the variables measured, except for body mass index, significantly decreased with age in both sexes. Decreases in circumference and MCA with age were more pronounced in the thigh than in the calf. These findings suggested that a selective decrease in muscle mass of the thigh leads to a decrease in the circumference of the thigh.

Keywords: Muscle cross-sectional area, Sarcopenia, Aging, Ultrasound.

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