SARC-F Score for Sarcopenia Screening
Five-item questionnaire (Strength, Assistance with walking, Rising from a chair, Climbing stairs, Falls) to screen for risk of sarcopenia. Total score 0–10; scores ≥ 4 suggest increased risk.
- 0–3 – low SARC-F score (low detected risk)
- ≥4 – at risk / probable sarcopenia; consider further assessment
Set the responses above and press “Calculate” to display the SARC-F score and a brief interpretation of sarcopenia risk.
A SARC-F score ≥ 4 is commonly used as a cut-off suggesting increased risk of sarcopenia and warrants more detailed evaluation (e.g. grip strength, gait speed, body composition).
This tool is intended for use by health professionals and for educational purposes only. It does not replace comprehensive geriatric assessment, guideline-based sarcopenia diagnosis (e.g. EWGSOP2/AWGS criteria) or clinical judgement.
SARC-F is a brief, self-reported screening questionnaire for sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass and strength) used mostly in older adults. It was developed to give clinicians a very quick way to flag people who may have clinically important muscle weakness and functional decline.ResearchGate+1
The name SARC-F comes from its five items:
- Strength – difficulty lifting/carrying a moderate weight
- Assistance in walking – difficulty walking across a room
- Rise from a chair – difficulty getting up from a chair/bed
- Climb stairs – difficulty climbing a flight of stairs
- Falls – number of falls in the past yearPhysiopedia+1
Each is scored 0 (no difficulty), 1 (some difficulty), or 2 (a lot/unable), giving a total score from 0 to 10. A SARC-F score ≥4 is generally considered “at risk for sarcopenia” or “probable sarcopenia” and is associated with higher risk of poor outcomes such as disability, hospitalisation, and mortality.SpringerLink+3COSA+3cgakit+3
Guidelines such as EWGSOP2 recommend SARC-F as an initial screening tool: people with scores ≥4 should undergo more detailed assessment (e.g. grip strength, chair stand tests, gait speed, DXA/BIA).PMC+2Frontiers+2 SARC-F is fast, cheap, and highly specific (few false positives), but it has limited sensitivity—a substantial number of sarcopenic patients can have scores <4, so a low score does not completely exclude sarcopenia.SpringerLink+1
