CALF CROSS-SECTIONS: Fatty regions of human leg muscle, outlined in red, differ between lean (left) and obese (right) subjects. HADI RAHEMI, SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY/MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY
The paper H. Rahemi et al., “The effect of intramuscular fat on skeletal muscle mechanics: Implications for the elderly and obese,” J R Soc Interface, 12:20150365, 2015. Adipose accumulation Human muscle is normally around 1.5 percent fat, but can reach up to 11 percent adiposity among the elderly and more than 5 percent in people with obesity, a condition tied to muscle weakness. To figure out how fat affects muscle performance, Hadi Rahemi of Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, developed an in silico model of a human calf muscle. Fat’s effects Working in collaboration with his advisor, James Wakeling, and with mathematician Nilima Nigam, Rahemi confirmed that increased fat impaired muscle performance by stiffening the tissue. Exceeding expectations Wakeling says the impact of ...
