For women over 60 years old, muscle strength plays an important role in longevity, a new study confirms.
Researchers at the University at Buffalo in New York followed more than 5,000 women between the ages of 63 and 99 and found that those with stronger muscles had a significantly lower risk of death over an eight-year period.
The results of this study were published in JAMA Network Open.
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Muscle function was measured using grip strength and how quickly participants could complete five stand-up and sit-down movements from a chair without assistance.
These are two tests commonly used in clinical practice to assess muscle function. senior citizenthe researchers pointed out.
“In a community cohort of ambulatory older women, muscle strength was associated with significantly lower mortality. normal physical activity “Sedentary time, walking speed, and blood C-reactive protein levels measured using wearable monitors,” study lead author Michael LaMonte, research professor of epidemiology and environmental health at the University at Buffalo, told FOX News Digital.
Many previous studies did not include such objective measurements, making it difficult to determine whether muscle strength itself was adequate. Leads to longevityaccording to LaMonte. “Our study allows us to more precisely isolate the association between physical fitness and mortality later in life,” he added.
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Strength is still important even for women who don’t get the recommended amount of aerobic exercise (at least 150 minutes per week) for longevitythe researchers found.
“The finding that people who had high muscle strength but did not meet current national guidelines for aerobic exercise had lower mortality rates was somewhat interesting,” Lamonte said.
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Federal guidelines recommend one to two days per week of strengthening activities that target major muscle groups.
LaMonte pointed out that resistance training doesn’t require a gym membership. These exercises include free weights, resistance bands, weight movement This also includes household items such as soup cans.
“Movement is key. Move more and sit less,” he said. “If we can’t get up from our chairs and move around, we’re in trouble.”
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Lamonte acknowledged that the study has some limitations. Although the researchers evaluated muscle strength in older adults, they did not examine whether levels early in adulthood may have long-term effects. health outcomes.
“We have not been able to understand how muscle strength and mortality are related in younger age groups,” he said, noting that future research should explore whether building muscle strength early could have an even greater impact on longevity.
