Grip Strength Can Contribute To A Lower Biological Age

21st August 2023

Fresh research from the University of Michigan has suggested that not having weak muscles could be as vital to long-term health as not smoking, making strength training more influential and important than you may have realised. 

Clearly, there’s more to ageing than years clocked up at your last birthday. Lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise and whether or not you’ve had to deal with serious illness all play their part in what’s known as biological age. 

Now this latest study claims that muscle weakness, as recorded by grip strength, an indicator of overall strength, hints at an older biological age of up to 10 years later than the chronological one. 

The Michigan team studied 1,274 older or middle-aged adults for their study, and found a link in both older women and men between reduced grip strength and more rapid biological ageing. In a statement, the University said: 

“If you maintain muscle strength throughout your life, you may be able to protect against many common aged-related diseases. Now we know that muscle weakness could even be the new smoking.” 

And the results of this comprehensive research back up previous findings indicating that lower grip strength was associated generally with poor health. One study, for example, revealed that this measure is a more accurate predictor of cardio vascular events than systolic blood pressure, traditionally the gold standard for detecting heart disorders. 

Biological Age vs Actual Age

So there could well be an argument for doctors adopting grip strength as a screen for increased biological ageing, as a way of identifying those at greater risk of chronic disease and even, potentially, early mortality. This would pave the way for the right medical intervention. 

Grip Strength

Further work is still needed to better understand the connection between grip strength and age acceleration in terms of how things like inflammatory conditions could exacerbate age-related weakness and mortality. (Chronic inflammation is, after all, a key risk factor in older people. It’s also associated with reduced grip strength.) 

The researchers also believe that future studies should look more closely at the way behavioural and lifestyle elements including diet and exercise may influence both age acceleration and grip strength. 

Outdoor gyms are ideal for strength training

The University of Michigan’s Prof Mark Peterson says: “While diet is important, I think regular exercise is the most critical thing someone can do to preserve their health.” 

At Fresh Air Fitness, we’re the UK’s leading (and award-winning) provider of outdoor gym equipment, aimed at anyone who wants to use it. We provide outdoor gym equipment to schools, councils and others, with dozens of products in our range available for adults, kids and wheelchair users. 

Check out our range, designed to promote a number of physical health benefits including muscular strength building. Find one of our outdoor gyms near you, as we have over 4,500 installed across the UK. We could contribute to your community having a better strength grip and, therefore, an enhanced biological age.