About
Roger A. Fielding, PhD is Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, Professor of Nutrition at the Friedman School, Senior Scientist at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA), and a member of InsideTracker's Scientific Advisory Board. He directs the Nutrition, Exercise Physiology and Sarcopenia Laboratory at HNRCA and serves as Associate Director of the Boston Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center. His research — 300+ peer-reviewed papers and 60,000+ Google Scholar citations — focuses on skeletal muscle aging, resistance training, and exercise prescription as levers against age-related decline. He helped define sarcopenia clinically through the FNIH Sarcopenia Project and co-led the landmark LIFE Study.
What to Know
Signature approach
Fielding's research approach treats age-related muscle loss as a treatable syndrome, not an inevitability. The lab combines cross-sectional cohort studies, longitudinal follow-up, and randomized exercise interventions to map how skeletal muscle mass, strength, and muscle power (force × velocity) decline with age — and what reverses the trajectory. The translational thrust: progressive resistance training, adequate protein intake, and structured physical activity are the primary levers, applicable from sedentary 70-year-olds upward.
What sets them apart
- Defined sarcopenia clinically. Co-author on the FNIH Sarcopenia Project consensus papers (2014) that set the operational thresholds for low muscle mass and weakness — the framework geriatricians and longevity clinicians use today.
- Co-led the LIFE Study. Principal designer and senior author on the JAMA 2014 LIFE trial showing structured moderate-intensity physical activity reduced major mobility disability over 2.6 years in 1,635 sedentary older adults — the largest RCT of its kind.
- 300+ papers, h-index 127, 63,000+ citations on Google Scholar. Recognized by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (Olof Johnell Science Award, Herbert Fleisch Medal) and the Gerontological Society of America (Excellence in Rehabilitation of Aging Persons Award).
Affiliations
Scientific Advisor
Thought Leadership
Publications
- The FNIH Sarcopenia Project: Rationale, Study Description, Conference Recommendations, and Final Estimates · Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, 2014
- The Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders Study: Design and Methods · Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, 2011
- Effect of Structured Physical Activity on Prevention of Major Mobility Disability in Older Adults: The LIFE Study Randomized Clinical Trial · JAMA, 2014
- Skeletal Muscle Power: A Critical Determinant of Physical Functioning in Older Adults · Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, 2012
- Sarcopenia: An Emerging Syndrome of Advancing Age · Calcified Tissue International, 2024
Media Appearances
- Dr. Roger Fielding on Strength Training for Older Adults · NIH News in Health · 2020-03-01
- Muscle Loss in Older Adults and What to Do About It · Tufts Now · 2021-02-09
- Investing in Research, Pushing for Advocacy for Treatments and Prevention of Sarcopenia · Alliance for Aging Research · 2015-06-29
Notable Collaborators
- Stephanie Studenski, MD, MPH · FNIH Sarcopenia Project lead — co-author on the consensus papers defining clinical thresholds for low muscle mass and weakness in older adults
- Marco Pahor, MD · University of Florida; Principal Investigator of the LIFE Study, the multi-site trial Fielding co-led on physical activity and mobility disability in older adults
- Kieran F. Reid, PhD · HNRCA collaborator on muscle power and physical function studies
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