Did you know that your muscle mass has a far greater effect on your overall health than just strength? Your muscle mass literally is an indicator of your potential longevity. Many think that muscle mass is just for vanity and those that want to lift heavy things.
An aging population and the rise of weight loss drugs has made muscle mass a much bigger issue. Weight loss drugs are mentioned not because they cause muscle loss directly but the magnitude or amount of weight lost. When someone loses a significant amount of weight 25-39% of that weight is muscle. Research has shown that strength or muscle mass is an indicator of your risk of all cause mortality. That means that the weaker or frailer you are the higher your risk of death from injury or disease.
Why are we so concerned about muscle? Skeletal muscle is the largest organ of our body by weight; it regulates 75% of the insulin-mediated glucose disposal in our body. This means it plays a huge role in glucose and fat metabolism, and muscle loss increases our risk of type 2 diabetes. This consumption of glucose (sugar) and fat means that it plays a significant role in metabolic rate or the rate and total number of calories burned per day. Basically, the more muscle you have the more calories you burn at rest. Therefore, more muscle helps you to burn more calories per day which helps keep your blood sugar, and lipid levels lower and keeps body fat lower which are all things that decrease risk of diabetes and heart disease.
The problem is that adults reach peak muscle mass between our 20s-40s, before it begins to decline. On average adults lose .5% of their skeletal muscle mass per year in their forties, 1-2% per year in their fifties, and approximately 3% per year after age 60. Without active dietary and exercise intervention this loss of muscle leads to frailty, increased falls, and loss of independence in older adults.
This muscle loss in not set in stone, you can make lifestyle changes and slow the muscle loss WAY down. Strength training can be added just three days a week and have a tremendous benefit to your health, longevity, mood, and independence. While it is never too late to start strength training, the earlier you start the better.
