Experts pinpoint simple strength test can predict how at risk you are from liver disease and other illnesses
People who are overweight but have good muscle strength may be less likely to develop obesity-related heart, liver or kidney damage, new research has suggested.
Despite growing evidence that excess body fat can directly cause diseases from heart disease to diabetes, experts now say obese people with good grip strength may be less likely to die prematurely and are better protected against disease.
Grip strength, which measures the force a person applies when squeezing an object, has long been considered a good indicator of physical health; higher scores indicate a reduced risk of heart disease, arthritis and even some cancers.
Researchers from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center say this is a “strong, early indicator of who is most at risk” of developing obesity-related diseases among people with excess body fat.
Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, using an individual’s height and weight to assess potential health risks, while excess body fat refers to the abnormal accumulation of fatty tissue that negatively affects our health.
inside to work To determine the link between grip strength and the development of obesity-related health problems or death, researchers examined 93,275 participants with excess body fat (also known as preclinical obesity) from the UK Biobank.
They found that participants with stronger hand grip skills were significantly less likely to develop obesity and die over a follow-up period of more than 13 years.
Dr Yun Shen, an expert in metabolic diseases and lead author of the study, said: ‘This protective link was consistent across multiple controls using other muscle measures, including muscle-to-weight and lean-to-weight ratios.
People with excess body fat but more muscle may be less likely to develop organ damage or die from obesity.
‘As grip strength is easy to measure and strength can be improved with weight training, the research points to a practical, low-cost way to identify at-risk individuals and take early action,’ he added.
To test your grip strength at home, experts recommend trying holding a heavy weight or object (about three-quarters of your body weight) continuously for one minute.
For the average man, this means choosing a weight of around 85 kg, and for women around 54 kg.
For men, 60 seconds should be easy enough, while for women, 30 seconds is a reasonable goal; less than this indicates an increased risk of early death.
Grip strength has long been used by doctors to early identify patients at risk of developing various health problems, including cardiovascular disease and even dementia.
A 2016 study by University College London involving nearly 7,000 people found that those with poor grip strength had a higher than average premature death rate from all causes at the start of the 17-year study.
Another analysis of previous research in nearly 140,000 people found that poor grip strength was a more accurate predictor of early death than high blood pressure, The Lancet reported in 2015.
Those with the least muscle strength were almost 150 percent more likely to die early, according to a study published last year in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning.
A hand dynamometer is used to measure isometric grip strength (hand grip strength).
To increase grip strength, the NHS recommends muscle strengthening activities that work all major muscle groups, including legs, hips and back. abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms – at least twice a week.
No specific time is recommended, but exercises should be performed to the point where another repetition will be difficult without assistance.
These may include push-ups, biceps curls, hip bridges, squats, and tricep dips.
A new study suggests that just five minutes of exercise twice a day can help improve heart health, especially for those with sedentary lifestyles.
Scientists have found that short bursts of activity can significantly improve cardiovascular fitness, an important measure of how the heart, lungs and blood vessels deliver oxygen to muscles.
This effect also held true for obese people; This suggests that increasing muscle strength may help protect against a number of obesity-related diseases.
It has been revealed that the British Liver Trust estimates that steatotic liver disease (MASLD) associated with metabolic dysfunction could affect up to 40 per cent of people in the UK.
Known medically as steatotic liver disease associated with metabolic dysfunction (MASLD), this condition is not linked to excessive alcohol consumption, the more commonly known cause of liver problems.
People with MASLD have excess fat in their livers and one or more metabolic risk factors, which may include obesity, high blood sugar, and high blood pressure.
About one in four patients has a more advanced form called steatohepatitis, or MASH, associated with metabolic dysfunction.
In this case, fat accumulation led to inflammation, cell damage, and in some cases, scarring of the liver.
Up to 1 in 5 people with MASH will progress to cirrhosis (advanced, irreversible scarring of the liver); This can lead to liver failure and increase the risk of liver cancer.
However, when liver function begins to decline, patients may experience fluid accumulation in the abdomen, jaundice, or confusion due to toxins accumulating in the bloodstream.
