The preponderance of research suggests that muscle weakness is associated with negative age-related health outcomes. For the past decade, we’ve started to view muscle strength (both upper body and lower body) as a “biomarker of aging.” To be clear, researchers haven’t delineated the physiological mechanism of how muscle strength slows aging.
Until now.
A group of University of Michigan scientists just published a brand-new study in the Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia, and Muscle that elucidates our understanding of the relationship between muscle and aging. Researchers sought to understand how muscle strength relates to DNA methylation (less methylation equals slower aging).
The researchers concluded: “Our findings provide some initial evidence of age acceleration among men and women with lower NGS (normalized grip strength, a proxy for overall upper body strength) and loss of strength over time. Preservation of muscle strength may positively influence healthy aging by protecting against DNAm age acceleration… This suggests that if you maintain your muscle strength across the lifespan, you may be able to protect against many common age-related diseases. We know that smoking, for example, can be a powerful predictor of disease and mortality, but now we know that muscle weakness could be the new smoking.”
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