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> If all that isn’t convincing enough to turn you onto weights, perhaps this is: maintaining strength later in life “seems to be one of the best predictors of s

> If all that isn’t convincing enough to turn you onto weights, perhaps this is: maintaining strength later in life “seems to be one of the best predictors of survival," says Peterson. “When we add strength...almost every health outcome improves.” This sort of thing is repeated a lot, but isn't this just a correlation? We don't know which way it goes. Maybe sick people get weaker, rather than weak people get sicker. That makes just as much sense.

brational 9y ago
There's separate research as well into how much, if any, exercise can slow/reduce Sarcopenia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcopenia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcopenia). So they are at least researching it separate from simple correlation as well. "Exercise is of interest in treatment of sarcopenia; evidence indicates increased ability and capacity of skeletal muscle to synthesize proteins in response to short-term resistance exercise.[18] A 2009 Cochrane review also found evidence that in older adults progressive resistance training can improve physical performance (gait speed) and muscular strength,[19] which are two key components of sarcopenia."
VLM 9y ago
The docs seem fairly certain the direction it flows is weakness leads to sickness. Apparently something to do with muscle tissue vs insulin response. Lower muscle tissue leads to lower BMR which leads to obesity related issues and insulin resistance issues. Its almost too trivial to point out the orthopedic issues like weak back muscles leading to back problems. Also the accidental injury issue is trivial obvious; when I was younger working on a home improvement project I dropped a solid wood (not hollow core) door and then caught it, wrenching my back, obviously if my arms were stronger I wouldn't have dropped the door to begin with, and if my back had been stronger (I had been taking a break from lifting) then my back wouldn't have been as messed up. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15107011?report=abstract https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15107011?report=abstract

brational 9y ago

There's separate research as well into how much, if any, exercise can slow/reduce Sarcopenia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcopenia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcopenia). So they are at least researching it separate from simple correlation as well. "Exercise is of interest in treatment of sarcopenia; evidence indicates increased ability and capacity of skeletal muscle to synthesize proteins in response to short-term resistance exercise.[18] A 2009 Cochrane review also found evidence that in older adults progressive resistance training can improve physical performance (gait speed) and muscular strength,[19] which are two key components of sarcopenia."

VLM 9y ago

The docs seem fairly certain the direction it flows is weakness leads to sickness. Apparently something to do with muscle tissue vs insulin response. Lower muscle tissue leads to lower BMR which leads to obesity related issues and insulin resistance issues. Its almost too trivial to point out the orthopedic issues like weak back muscles leading to back problems. Also the accidental injury issue is trivial obvious; when I was younger working on a home improvement project I dropped a solid wood (not hollow core) door and then caught it, wrenching my back, obviously if my arms were stronger I wouldn't have dropped the door to begin with, and if my back had been stronger (I had been taking a break from lifting) then my back wouldn't have been as messed up. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15107011?report=abstract https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15107011?report=abstract