No, it's not hidden in some Florida swamp, it's actually somewhere between the dumbbells and the pull-up bar. Nope, I'm not kidding: The University of California, Los Angeles UCLA has published some exciting new research that suggests older adults with more muscle mass are less likely to die prematurely than those with less muscle. These findings add to a growing pile of evidence that overall body composition is a better predictor of all-cause mortality than overall weight or body mass index BMI.
Muscle mass seems to be an important predictor of life expectancy, and maintaining lean muscle mass well beyond middle age can increase your life span! Total body mass includes both fat and muscle. Each of these tissue types has a different effect on the metabolism, so researchers at UCLA tested the hypothesis that greater muscle mass—and the metabolic stimulus it provides—is associated with a lower mortality rate in older adults.
Study subjects were measured using bioelectrical impedance. Because muscle and fat have different water content, electrical currents flow through them at different rates. Bioelectrical impedance is the measure of how much fat or muscle mass a person has based on the speed of those electrical currents. Based on the results, researchers calculated each subject's muscle mass relative to his or her height. This value is called a muscle mass index, defined as muscle mass divided by height squared.
BMI is still used regularly today by medical professionals to determine if a person has a healthy amount of body fat. Though it can be useful in a general sense, BMI misses important factors such as family history, genetics, lifestyle, age, sex, and muscle mass when considering a person's overall health and their risks of developing diseases.
In fact, many people who are considered in the "normal" BMI range were found to be unhealthy based on other factors, a UCLA-led study released in found. Here are seven signs that you're actually healthy, even if your BMI says you have overweight or obesity. Waist size may actually be one of the most important factors in measuring a person's overall health, Insider previously reported.
You may have a high BMI, but if the circumference of your waist is below 35 inches as a woman and 40 inches as a man, you're more likely to have a healthier weight. In other words, fat that builds up around your waist and belly is more dangerous than the fat that gets stored around your thighs and hips. BMI doesn't account for body composition , which means it misses the difference between muscle mass and fat.
Because muscles are more dense and heavier than fat, bodybuilders and other professional athletes like football players are often considered obese or overweight based on their BMI alone. Someone who has a high BMI due to muscle mass most likely doesn't need to worry about the health problems associated with obesity and being overweight. Those numbers are then punched into a formula to determine your body fat percentage. One of the most accurate methods is hydrostatic weighing. Your underwater weight then has to be calculated with your land weight to measure body fat.
It may be easier to find a facility that offers bioelectric impedance analysis, or BIA. This method sends an electrical current through your body, determining resistance. Generally, the quicker that current gets through your body, the higher the amount of muscle mass you have in comparison to body fat.
In other words, what this study really shows is that people who are very sick or very close to the end of their lives are likely to have a lower BMI.
The more overweight you are, the shorter your life expectancy. Statistically speaking, your long-term risks are lowest if your BMI is between Click here to calculate your BMI. Already a subscriber? Sign in. Thanks for reading Scientific American.
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