What did you study?
I investigated the effects of physical training on sarcopenia and physical functioning in older adults. I was interested in individual differences in exercise responses and the factors that may explain these differences.
The data were obtained from the ProMo and PASSWORD physical training studies. The participants were older adults recovering from hip fracture and community-dwelling older adults who were physically inactive.
What were the main findings of your research?
Only three percent of the participants were having a sarcopenia. Pre-sarcopenia was high among individuals recovering from hip fracture, as nearly half of them had low muscle strength. Low physical activity and older age were associated with sarcopenia.
One-year long physical training was based on physical training recommendations were effective in improving muscle strength and walking. However, no changes in muscle mass were observed at the group level. There were substantial individual differences in exercise responses: in some individuals, muscle strength nearly doubled, whereas others showed no changes. In addition, some participants experienced a considerable increase in muscle mass.
Achieving multiple high responses was associated with younger age, lower body mass index, and higher adherence to resistance training. Surprisingly, multimorbidity was also associated with achieving multiple high responses.
How can the results be applied, and what new knowledge does the study provide?
The findings support the suitability of physical training based on physical activity recommendations for the prevention of sarcopenia. Multimorbidity does not appear to prevent beneficial responses to physical training.
The large inter-individual variation in responses indicates that the same exercise program is not equally effective for everyone. From a training perspective, this highlights the need for more individualized approaches. Nevertheless, the importance of resistance training should not be overlooked, as adherence to gym-based exercise was associated with higher physical responses.
The public examination of the doctoral dissertation in Physiotherapy by MSc Onni Hämäläinen, entitled “Effects of Multicomponent Physical Training on Sarcopenia Determinants in Community-Dwelling Older Adults”, will take place in the University of Jyväskylä, building Seminarium, Old Assembly Hall S212, on May 22, 2026, at 12 o’clock noon.
The opponent will be Associate Professor Caterina Trevisan (University of Ferrara, Italy and Karolinska Institutet, Sweden), and the custos will be Professor Arto Hautala (University of Jyväskylä).
The language of the dissertation defense is English.
- The dissertation defense can also be followed online. Link to the live stream: https://r.jyu.fi/dissertation-hamalainen-220526
- Link to the dissertation: https://jyx.jyu.fi/jyx/Record/jyx_123456789_110056/
Further information
Onni Hämäläinen, onni.o.hamalainen@jyu.fi
