Young, fit people lose more muscle mass if inactive

London: If you stop using your legs just for two weeks, you would lose a third of your muscular strength even if you are quite young and strong, says a new study. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen examined what happens to the muscles in younger and older men after a period of high inactivity -- for example when we are injured, fall ill or simply take a very relaxing holiday.

"Our experiments reveal that inactivity affects the muscular strength in young and older men equally. Having had one leg immobilised for two weeks, young people lose up to a third of their muscular strength, while older people lose around one fourth," said researcher Andreas Vigelsoe. "A young man who is immobilised for two weeks loses muscular strength in his leg equivalent to ageing by 40 or 50 years," Vigelsoe added.