Age-related Changes in Muscle Strength of Healthy Japanese

Gravity-compensated extremity joint torque values were measured in approximately 1,000 healthy Japanese to test the hypothesis that young people in Japan have less muscle strength than older people. The extremity joint torque values of the women in their 20s were significantly lower than those of the women in their 40s, 50s, and/or 60s for six extremity joint torque parameters: wrist palmer flexion, wrist dorsiflexion, elbow flexion, elbow extension, shoulder extension and hip flexion. On the other hand, according to the “physical and motor fitness survey” conducted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, grip strength is decreasing in women in their 20s over time. From these findings, fifty years from now women in their 70s in Japan can be expected to have less muscle strength than women in their 70s today.