A recent article by David Cox states that grip strength is associated with a range of health outcomes, including type 2 diabetes, lower bone mineral density, depression, and even cognitive impairment… all conditions that impact longevity.
The BBC report outlines research from Joshua Davidson at the University of Derby. Davidson’s and other studies say that grip strength is increasingly being seen as one of the most reliable markers of health.
An earlier study looked at nearly 140,000 adults and found that grip strength was a better predictor for premature death than other indicators such as blood pressure.
According to Davidson, although his research utilizes a dynamometer (a device that measures the force generated by your hand and forearm muscles when you squeeze it), a simple test can be accomplished with a tennis or stress ball. “All you need is any object that you can grasp and can be deformed without causing pain or discomfort. Simply squeeze it for as long as you can before your grip fatigues. Being able to maintain a maximal squeeze on something like a tennis ball for 15-30 seconds would be a good standard to strive for.” He recommends that you keep track of how long you can squeeze over a period of time. With practice, says Davidson, you should see steady improvements over time.
While it may seem strange to think that your grip strength can predict longevity, Mark Peterson, a professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Michigan, says that grip strength is being used as a proxy for overall musculoskeletal strength throughout your body and can reflect if a person is active enough and may indicate their risk of frailty. In short, in these studies, grip strength is seen as a reflection of a person’s activity levels, nutrition, and underlying illnesses.
With this in mind, researchers say that you may be able to improve your grip strength just by being more physically active.
Read the full article at this link: Grip strength: The test for your chances of living to 100
