Products that help cope with the health conditions and lifestyle consequences of advanced age represent an enormous, fast-emerging—and as yet untapped—nutraceutical market.

Although a number of conditions will move into the spotlight, perhaps none is more important to ensuring our functionality and mobility as we age than sarcopenia—the age-related loss of muscle mass that has an impact on strength, power and function, synonymous with physical frailty. In the U.S., sarcopenia affects 45% of people over age 60 and more than half of those 80+ years.

Sarcopenia can likely be prevented—and its severity lessened—by an adequate intake of protein, specific amino acids (e.g., leucine, cysteine and others), resistance exercise, control of inflammation, hormone replacement and the addition of various health-promoting ingredients, including creatine, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), calcium and vitamin D.

Market Potential

In 1999 the CDC recognized sarcopenia as one of the top five major health risks facing the U.S. population. A 2003 study, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, estimated U.S. healthcare costs directly attributed to sarcopenia exceeded $26 billion. According to Sloan Trends’ TrendSense model, sarcopenia is ready to enter the Popularization Phase, where it is perfectly poised as a marketing opportunity in the health food/specialty channel and among very health conscious/ condition-specific consumers. In 2005, sarcopenia crossed over the Medical Threshold, signaling the beginning of a long-term sustainable trend. Moreover, the exponential growth in Medical activity over the past decade is creating a strong body of scientific evidence, which will help propel this market mainstream. Ingredients that help build lean body mass, such as CLA and whey protein, are already making headway in the specialty/health food markets.