Effects of Internet-Based Nutrition and Exercise Interventions on the Prevention and Treatment of Sarcopenia in the Elderly

Effective nutrition and exercise interventions may improve sarcopenia in the elderly. The purpose of our study was to investigate the effectiveness of Internet-based nutrition and exercise interventions in the elderly with sarcopenia. Participants were divided into 4 groups: control, nutrition, exercise, and comprehensive (nutrition plus exercise) groups; there was at least 50 participants in each group. Our trial lasted 12 weeks. We conducted dietary and exercise interventions through an app and collected feedback from the participants every three weeks. Information on the diet, skeletal muscle mass, and muscle function was collected before and after the interventions. The comprehensive group had higher high-quality protein intake than the control (p = 0.017) and exercise (p = 0.012) groups. After the interventions, we obtained differences in skeletal muscle mass, skeletal muscle mass/height(2), skeletal muscle mass/weight, muscle mass/BMI, and skeletal muscle mass/body fat percentage (p < 0.05). Changes in average daily energy and total daily protein intakes were not significantly different; however, there was an overall improvement in the intervention groups relative to baseline data. There were no changes in the average daily time of moderate physical activity. The Internet was an effective tool of nutrition intervention in the elderly with sarcopenia. The Internet-based nutrition intervention improved high-quality protein intake and skeletal muscle mass in the elderly with sarcopenia.