Measurements of skeletal muscle mass and power are positively related to a Mediterranean dietary pattern in women

Summary The age-related loss of skeletal muscle and function are risk factors for osteoporosis and fractures. We found that higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet score was significantly associated with greater fat-free mass and leg explosive power suggesting a role for the Mediterranean Diet in prevention of loss of muscle outcomes. Introduction 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. Methods We examined associations between the MD score (MDS) and FFM% (fat-free mass / weight × 100), FFMI (fat-free mass/height 2 ), 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. FFM%, FFMI, grip strength, and LEP were compared across quartiles of the MDS after adjustment for covariates, with CRP measured in a subgroup ( n = 1658). Results Higher adherence to the MDS was positively associated with measurements of muscle outcomes, with significant differences of 1.7 % for FFM% and 9.6 % for LEP ( P trend