Sarcopenia is one of the severe disorders associated with nutritional imbalance. While sarcopenia is an inseparable part of the process of ageing as people get older, it plays a vital role in pathological situations such as protein-calorie and kwashiorkor malnutrition, it accompanies various diseases of rheumatic character and is an almost ever-present feature of the clinical picture of oncological patients. Sarcopenia in people under strain is fatally manifested mainly in the elderly, medically fragile patients. In view of the fact that sarcopenia is the decisive factor regarding the course of chronic as well as acute illnesses, it must be diagnosed, monitored and appropriately treated in time. Although nutrition is not the only factor involved especially in older age in the development of sarcopenia, the type of nutritional support and, in the new era, particularly nutritional pharmacology, form the underlying principles of the approach to the comprehensive care of the patient.
Key words: ageing - lipids - malnutrition - proteosynthesis - sarcopenia.