# 'Muscular young men' may live for longer



## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

How muscular you are as a teenager may predict how long you live, at least if you are a man.

Swedish experts who tracked more than a million teenage boys for 24 years found those with low muscle strength - weaker leg and arm muscles and a limp grip - were at increased risk of early death.

The team behind the BMJ study believe muscle strength reflects general fitness, which would explain the link.

Experts stress the findings do not mean muscle building makes you live longer.

The effect of poor muscular fitness in those tracked was similar to well established risk factors for early death, such as obesity and high blood pressure.

When the researchers took into account these better known risk factors, they found the link between early death and muscle power remained.

Thin and fat men alike fared worse in terms of life expectancy if they had weaker than average muscles, while more burly men had better survival odds even if they were overweight.

Over the course of the study, 26,145 (2.3%) of the men died. The leading single cause of death was accidental injury, followed by suicide, cancer, heart disease and stroke.

A third of the deaths were due to other causes and the researchers grouped these together for their calculations.


__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content










The teenagers who scored above average on muscular strength at the start of the study had a 20-35% lower risk of early death from any cause and also from cardiovascular diseases.

They also had a 20-30% lower risk of early death from suicide and were up to 65% less likely to have any psychiatric diagnosis, such as schizophrenia or depression.

In comparison, the 16- to 19-year-olds with the lowest level of muscular strength had the highest risk of dying before they reached their mid-50s.

The teenagers, who were all conscripts to the Swedish military, were asked to grip and to do some leg curls and arm push ups against resistance to measure muscle strength.

A spokeswoman for the British Heart Foundation said: "The benefits of being physically active at any age are well established with studies showing it can prevent children from developing diseases later on in life, as well as improving their concentration at school, their overall mental health and well-being."

Stephen Evans, professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said while there was good evidence exercise was beneficial for health, the study did not show doing more exercise would necessarily prolong your life.

And encouraging people to do more regular physical activity could be a challenge, he added.

"Sadly the trials of an intervention to increase exercise have not shown notable benefits, though that does not discourage me and many others from exercising," Prof Evans said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20406742


----------



## Owl-99 (Mar 7, 2012)

I think a lot of these studies find the results that they want to, they lack neutrality and have little bearing on the wider population with all of its many complications and genetic factors.


----------



## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

bigblue38 said:


> I think a lot of these studies find the results that they want to, they lack neutrality and have little bearing on the wider population with all of its many complications and genetic factors.


That's possible.


----------



## typemismatch (May 30, 2012)

This is great news! I don't have to bother about a pension.


----------



## RelinquishedHell (Apr 10, 2012)

So people who are physically fit live longer?


----------



## Nada (Dec 19, 2004)

Mmm, ok. I don't know, but it just seems like common sense to me.


----------



## jc22 (Jul 5, 2012)

Guna live to a million then Lolz


----------



## Petrovsk Mizinski (Nov 29, 2011)

ThatOneQuietGuy said:


> So people who are physically fit live longer?


lol this


----------



## Flame Sixtyone (Aug 27, 2009)

ThatOneQuietGuy said:


> So people who are physically fit live longer?


Was going to post this face :teeth


----------



## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

I believe normally thin men with little muscle are considered fit medically.


----------



## enfield (Sep 4, 2010)

i read a comment to this study somewhere that said muscle strength (which is what was measured in this study) is actually not that well correlated to muscle size (the example the commenter gave was that the Olympic athletes that perform feats of muscle strength do not develop muscles at all the size of body builders).

so i think the point was normally thin men with little muscle might have more muscle strength than you might expect (that is, this study should not be considered too surprising, since it is not saying larger muscles = longer life).

what i want to know is what is with men with teens with more muscle strength committing suicide less in their adults lives.


----------



## Petrovsk Mizinski (Nov 29, 2011)

komorikun said:


> I believe normally thin men with little muscle are considered fit medically.


How much muscle and/or numbers on a scale don't matter that much.
What does matter, however, is body composition (i.e, bodyfat percentage/lean mass percentage of total weight))
'little muscle' could be on a man with 10% bodyfat, or it could be on a man that's technically obese despite having small/skinny limbs at 35% bodyfat (may look skinny with a shirt on, different story when shirt off, AKA skinny fat)
Generally speaking, between 9% to 15-17% bodyfat is the healthiest for a male.



enfield said:


> i read a comment to this study somewhere that said muscle strength (which is what was measured in this study) is actually not that well correlated to muscle size (the example the commenter gave was that the Olympic athletes that perform feats of muscle strength do not develop muscles at all the size of body builders).
> 
> so i think the point was normally thin men with little muscle might have more muscle strength than you might expect (that is, this study should not be considered too surprising, since it is not saying larger muscles = longer life).
> 
> what i want to know is what is with men with teens with more muscle strength committing suicide less in their adults lives.


Cross sectional area of a muscle is one factor that can determine strength potential, but CNS efficiency, neural adaption, tendon insertion, high testosterone/low estrogen levels, among many other physiological/genetic factors, can play a part.

The fact that in powerlifting, strongman and olympic weight lifting you have no choice but to work out the entire body means they tend to have more muscle mass than a lot of 'bodybuilders' at the gym that only work out their upper body anyway :lol


----------



## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

What about fit people who run? I have muscles, too! :mum


----------



## DeeperUnderstanding (May 19, 2007)

I think it depends on many factors, like heart conditions, as well.


----------



## whattothink (Jun 2, 2005)

Someone once told me that intense strength training increases the risk of heart problems later in life. After looking for some evidence just now, I've failed to come up with anything. 

Although I have read in several places that eating less promotes a longer lifespan. Something to do with a decrease in free radicals because less energy is being used - not sure about the specifics. I'd imagine this would translate badly for someone involved in intense training for many years, given their increased caloric intake.


----------



## straightarrows (Jun 18, 2010)

well, 200 years ago there wasn't "Gym" but people lived longer!!,,,, BTW, try to search for Ex-Bodybuilders !.. not sure if this study is right!


----------



## Jakers (Nov 29, 2012)

Facial features and the body structure both

I'm gonna live for a loooooooong time, I just hope all this SA and **** doesn't give me a heart attack


----------



## retepe94 (Aug 15, 2012)

tannasg said:


> I think a lot of these studies find the results that they want to, they lack neutrality and have little bearing on the wider population with all of its many complications and genetic factors.


They are trying to get us paranoid.


----------



## Kiba (Apr 26, 2013)

Don't rural Asian's have the longest/healthiest lifespans?... I'm pretty sure they are kind of lacking in *Golds Gyms*....


----------



## Paper Samurai (Oct 1, 2009)

Kiba said:


> Don't rural Asian's have the longest/healthiest lifespans?... I'm pretty sure they are kind of lacking in *Golds Gyms*....


Hmm, I thought myself. Asian being so stick thin and all, yet having the longest life spans in the developed world.


----------



## Dissonance (Dec 27, 2011)

Going to need those steroids then.


----------

