Prof Fiatarone Singh conducted the first study of high intensity progressive resistance training (PRT) in nonagenarians in a Boston nursing home, published in JAMA in 1990, and a larger trial of exercise and nutritional supplementation (The FICSIT Study), published in NEJM in 1994. These two studies led to a paradigm shift in geriatric practice internationally, with the feasibility and efficacy of this novel mode of training demonstrated for the first time. It has also led to a recognition that sarcopenia is a potentially preventable and treatable condition in older adults, and requires anabolic exercise to overcome the disuse atrophy and catabolism of ageing, inactivity, and chronic disease. Many clinical trials of exercise and nutrition for the treatment of chronic disease and disability have been conducted by Prof Fiatarone Singh since that time, including treatment of peripheral vascular disease, depression, frailty, osteoporosis, congestive heart failure, osteoarthritis, hip fracture, chronic kidney disease, end-stage renal failure, obesity, type 2 diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, cognitive impairment and dementia, gait and balance disorders, recurrent falling, insomnia, malnutrition, vitamin D deficiency, and other syndromes.
