A Firm Way to Slow Aging
Grip strength predicts risk of physical disease, mental disability and early death
Welcome back to Age Wise, exploring the science of improving physical health and mental wellness at every stage of life. This week, the strong case for staying strong.
If you’ve followed me for long, you know I’m not fond of the term “anti-aging” or claims that aging is a disease that can be “cured.” What I do love are concrete, science-back ways to face the facts of aging and make smart behavioral and lifestyle decisions to slow the process down, in order to stay as healthy and capable as possible while upping the odds of a good, long life. This is where grip strength comes in. What follows is a brief summary of my latest article on Medium:
New research reveals that biological age — how old you really are versus your chronological age — can be measured using grip strength as a proxy.
“We’ve known that muscular strength is a predictor of longevity, and that weakness is a powerful indicator of disease and mortality,” said Mark Peterson, PhD, an associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Michigan. “For the first time, we have found strong evidence of a biological link between muscle weakness and actual acceleration in biological age.”
Peterson and his colleagues compared grip strength in 1,274 middle-aged people to DNA-based biomarkers of aging. Across 10 years of measurements, people with weak grips were found, on average, to age faster.
“Grip strength is not just a proxy for overall strength, but also a good indicator of overall robustness and health,” Peterson tells me. “The stronger a person is relative to his or her body mass, the healthier and higher functioning that person is.”
The findings are detailed in the Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle.
This isn’t a case for squeezing a rubber ball to develop a crushing handshake. It argues for taking up yoga, weightlifting, biking, indoor rock climbing, kayaking or any activity that builds whole-body muscle. These articles (also on Medium) offer a range of suggestions to help you get going, no matter how old you are or what kind of shape you’re in:
P.S.: In last week’s Age Wise newsletter, I told you last week I’d be doing my first running race in more than a decade, a 5k trail run. Well, it turned out to be about a half-mile longer than billed, with a steep climb near the end that had some folks walking. Because I’d trained, I achieved the overall pace I’d aimed for. And because the field of entrants was pretty thin, I placed 2nd in my 60-69 age group! I’m telling you this as a reminder: The promise of a T-shirt can be a powerful motivator. I was so thrilled with the result that I went out a few days after the race to see if I could manage jogging 10 kilometers, and I was. So now I’ve signed up for a 10k race, with my eye on 4th place in my age group, based on the run times from last year’s event. It’s another carrot to keep me moving. What’s your motivator?
Your support makes this free newsletter possible. If you find it useful, please consider forwarding it. You can find more of my health and wellness writing on Medium. Also find me on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin. And if you ever feel tired, unfocused, stressed or cranky in the afternoon, check out my book, Make Sleep Your Superpower.—Rob
Bravo!!!