Whether it’s carrying groceries home, typing at your desk, or pouring milk into your tea, you need grip strength for many day-to-day activities in the present. But developing a strong grip will benefit you in the future as well, as it’s often seen as a predictor of increased lifespan.
In fact, research shows it is a better indicator of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality than blood pressure. A systematic review also revealed that in older adults, grip strength was inversely linked to a ‘decline in mobility, functional status and mortality’ as we age. Now, a new study once again confirms associations between forearm strength and a long life.
The study
Researchers measured hand grip to determine strength in 14,178 participants aged 50 or over in the United States.
Men were categorised as ‘weak’ if their hand-grip strength was:
- under 35.5 kg – they couldn’t grip heavier than this weight;
- under 0.45kg per kg of body weight – a standardised measurement (common scale) where they couldn’t grip heavier than this weight per kilo of body weight;
- under 1.05 kg per kg/m2 – they couldn’t grip heavier than this weight per kilo for every BMI unit
Women were ‘weak’ if their hand-grip strength was:
- under 20kg – they couldn’t grip heavier than this weight as a total amount;
- under 0.337kg per kg of body weight – a standardised measurement (common scale) where they couldn’t grip heavier than this weight per kilo of body weight;
- under 0.79 kg per kg/m2 – they couldn’t grip heavier than this weight per kilo for every BMI unit
A person was classified as generally weak if their strength was below all three cutoff points.
The results
In all three categories, those who were ‘weak’ had a higher statistical likelihood of dying early from all causes. In fact, the weakest quartile of participants were over twice as likely to die in the next ten years.
Falling below the absolute strength cut off point seemed to be worse for you, with a risk ratio of 1.45 compared to 1.39 for BMI-adjusted weakness and 1.33 for body-weight-adjusted weakness.
Unsurprisingly, the risk of early death increased as the number of ‘weak’ cutoff points increased. If they were weak in just one category, they had a 1.37 risk ratio of dying, 1.47 in two, and 1.69 in three.
‘Weakness determined by [both] absolute and body-size-adjusted strength provides robust prediction of time [until death], thus [highlighting] the importance of muscle strength during ageing,’ the study authors found.
‘A weak grip may indicate a lack of muscular strength throughout the body, which is often a result of low or non-existent physical activity,’ adds trainer and power-training devotee Jacqueline Hooton. However, she noted, crucially, that ‘this is not a causative relationship’ and a lack of total-body muscle does not lead to a weak grip, or vice versa.
She also emphasised that ‘grip strength decreases with age, particularly from the age of 50, with a more rapid loss after 65’, recommending farmer’s walks as a way to build forearm strength, as well as total-body strength and stability.
So while building muscle generally is always a win, if you want to focus on your grip strength in particular, try dead hangs, pull-ups, deadlifts and farmer’s carries.
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