The older you get, the more important strength training and maintaining muscle mass is.
New research from UCLA suggests that the more muscle mass older people have, the less likely they are to die prematurely. These findings add to the growing evidence that overall body composition is a better predictor of all-cause mortality than using Body Mass Index (BMI).
The study, published in the American Journal of Medicine, found that building muscle mass is important in decreasing metabolic risk.
Many studies on the mortality impact of obesity focus on BMI because it is easy to measure.
This study reinforces that we need to be focusing on ways to improve body composition, rather than on BMI alone, when counselling adults on preventative health behaviours.
The researchers analyzed data collected by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III, conducted between 1988 and 1994. They focused on a group of 3,659 individuals that included men who were 55 or older and women who were 65 or older at the time of the survey. The authors then determined how many of those individuals had died from natural causes based on a follow-up survey done in 2004.
They found that all-cause mortality was significantly lower in the highest quartile of muscle mass index compared with the lowest quartile.
Essentially, the greater your muscle mass, the lower your risk of death.
Rather than worrying about weight or body mass index, we should be trying to maximize and maintain muscle mass.
The new Australian exercise and activity guidelines recommend two sessions a week of resistance or strength training.
The good news is that if the sessions are well designed and focus on the major muscles, they can be done in 30 minutes.
Article Author: David Beard, Calico's Exercise Physiologist & Healthy Aging Expert