Plenty of evidence that increased muscle strength protects against trauma such as falling in the elderly. Exercise can help people maintain physical independenc

Plenty of evidence that increased muscle strength protects against trauma such as falling in the elderly. Exercise can help people maintain physical independence and hence keep them sociable, which potentially protects against life-limiting problems. With resistance training comes improved coordination (generally) which protects against balance issues. There is ambiguous evidence suggesting that resistance training protects against osteoporosis. This stuff mainly applies in the elderly, but the earlier in your adult life you start, the better you're likely to be (okay, ignoring injury, true -- but that may be balanced by issues later in life). Loss of muscle mass has a name: sarcopaenia/sarcopenia. Stick it into PubMed and look through the literature.