Better get lifting some weights! UCLA research suggest that the more muscle one maintains the less likely one is to die prematurely. The study was published in the American Journal of Medicine led by Dr. Preethi Srikanthan who is a clinical professor of endocrinology at UCLA.
The key summary finding is that building and maintaining muscle is very important to mitigating metabolic risk. Srikanthan communicated there is too much emphasis on improving body composition via changes in BMI, body fat %, or weight loss.
A better focus of attention and energy is start building muscle. This may be one of the best suggestions for older adults in terms of a preventive measure to protect length and quality of life.
The results of this study used bioelectrical impedance to find the correlation between muscle mass index, height and age at death. All-cause mortality was significantly lower in those with greater muscle mass index relative to height. Simply put the greater your total muscle mass, the lower your risk of death. Dr. Karlamangla at the UCLA professor of geriatrics said, “rather than worrying about weight or body mass index, we should be trying to maximize and maintain muscle.”
This study is not a cause and effect relationship. However, it is an important predictor. BMI has proven to be an inconsistent predictor of mortality. Srikanthan and Karlamangla concluded that medical clinicians should be encouraging adults to improve their relative muscle mass to height ratio.
It is never too early or too late to start building muscle. Time to start playing weights!