How's your grip?

[snusgetter]

~
Strong Grip May Mean Longer Life

Measures of Strength Predict Who Will Live Longer
Sept. 10, 2010 -- If your grip is strong and you’re able to raise from a chair quickly, walk fast, and balance on one leg, chances are you’ll live longer than people who have difficulty doing such things, says a study published in BMJ, formerly the British Medical Journal.

Researchers in the United Kingdom say they’ve found that such signs of physical strength can be used to predict mortality in older people.

Scientists at University College London’s Medical Research Council say people who can perform such acts with relative ease are likely to live longer than their peers who are weaker and slower.

Death Risk Predictors
The study, performed by Rachel Cooper, PhD, and colleagues of University College London, examined data from 33 studies that measured physical capabilities.

Fourteen studies, including data on 53,476 people, dealt with grip strength, and researchers say the death rate among the weakest people was 1.67 times greater than among strongest participants, taking age, sex, and body size into account.

They also examined data from five studies covering 14,692 people. They found that the death rate among people who walked the slowest was 2.87 times greater than among peers who walked fastest.

And the death rate among people who took the longest times to rise from a chair was about twice that of peers who were fastest.

Strong Grip Aids Health
The association of grip strength with mortality not only held true for older people, but younger ones as well. Five studies that looked at grip strength had participants with an average age under 60.

“Objective measures of physical capability are predictors of all-cause mortality in older community dwelling populations,” the authors conclude. “Such measures may therefore provide useful tools for identifying older people at higher risk of death.”

The four tasks investigated by researchers are acts common in everyday living, and the tests might be used for screening purposes so that interventions can be targeted for weaker people.

All four markers could be used as signs of general health or of disease, the researchers say.

“Grip strength measured at younger ages also predicted mortality, but whether walking speed, chair rise time, and standing balance performance are associated with mortality in younger populations remains to be seen,” the authors conclude.

WebMD

THAT'S RIGHT, BOYS AND GIRLS...

[visiON]

What if I have back problems and can't rise from a chair quickly? o.O

[snusgetter]

What if I have back problems and can't rise from a chair quickly? o.O

Then you're SOL?


But seriously, folks...

I think one thing to keep in mind here:
All four markers could be used as signs of general health or of disease, the researchers say.

And nothing's cut and dry.

As I first read this news item, I thought about my Uncle Phil.

I don't recall him ever having a strong handshake; but he did work with his hands, sometimes doing backbreaking work.

He was never a fast walker (or anything else, for that matter!).

Balance on one leg? Maybe.

Able to raise from a chair quickly? Not these days; he has one of those tilt-me-up and dump-me-out recliners and watches reruns of shows we've all forgotten about years ago, along with Red Sox games (and winter reruns!).

But I do know he

• is never quick to anger;
• seldom ever raises his voice;
• eats 3 squares a day, starting with a good breakfast;
• is not a teetotaler but never has abused alcohol;
• is a confirmed bachelor.

I could go on but I don't want to make him sound like Father Teresa!!

My point is that these studies may be valid and help point us in the right directions, but there are too many variables in life to rely totally on any one study, especially these days.



By the way, Uncle Phil is 91.

[snusgetter]

What if I have back problems and can't rise from a chair quickly? o.O

How thoughtless of me!

I forgot to ask:


How's your grip?

[visiON]

I do everything very fast Everything... hehe

[Frosted]

When I read the article a couple of days ago I thought what a load of generalised rubbish.
My grandfather was a lifelong type 1 diabetic - he always did everything slowly in old age - getting out of a chair, walking etc. He died at 91.

[WickedKitchen]

I suspect the grip and ability to keep strength is tied to physical exercise throughout life. As you perform physical labor your tendons and ligaments get stronger along with muscles. It would only stand to reason that an elderly person that has had a physically active life would be inherently stronger than a person that has lived a sedentary life. People who exercise live longer. My opinion is that this is more an article of coincidence than anything else.

[CoderGuy]

~
Strong Grip May Mean Longer Life

Measures of Strength Predict Who Will Live Longer
Sept. 10, 2010 -- If your grip is strong and you’re able to raise from a chair quickly, walk fast, and balance on one leg, chances are you’ll live longer than people who have difficulty doing such things, says a study published in BMJ, formerly the British Medical Journal.

Researchers in the United Kingdom say they’ve found that such signs of physical strength can be used to predict mortality in older people.

Scientists at University College London’s Medical Research Council say people who can perform such acts with relative ease are likely to live longer than their peers who are weaker and slower.

Death Risk Predictors
The study, performed by Rachel Cooper, PhD, and colleagues of University College London, examined data from 33 studies that measured physical capabilities.

Fourteen studies, including data on 53,476 people, dealt with grip strength, and researchers say the death rate among the weakest people was 1.67 times greater than among strongest participants, taking age, sex, and body size into account.

They also examined data from five studies covering 14,692 people. They found that the death rate among people who walked the slowest was 2.87 times greater than among peers who walked fastest.

And the death rate among people who took the longest times to rise from a chair was about twice that of peers who were fastest.

Strong Grip Aids Health
The association of grip strength with mortality not only held true for older people, but younger ones as well. Five studies that looked at grip strength had participants with an average age under 60.

“Objective measures of physical capability are predictors of all-cause mortality in older community dwelling populations,” the authors conclude. “Such measures may therefore provide useful tools for identifying older people at higher risk of death.”

The four tasks investigated by researchers are acts common in everyday living, and the tests might be used for screening purposes so that interventions can be targeted for weaker people.

All four markers could be used as signs of general health or of disease, the researchers say.

“Grip strength measured at younger ages also predicted mortality, but whether walking speed, chair rise time, and standing balance performance are associated with mortality in younger populations remains to be seen,” the authors conclude.

WebMD

THAT'S RIGHT, BOYS AND GIRLS...

Just proof of natural selection. The slowest and weakest are eliminated leaving only the strong to survive.

[justintempler]

So this is the kind of stuff researchers waste their time and money on?

I think people's overall health is a much better indicator. There's probably 100's of things they could use as indicators. How about belly fat? or can they climb a flight of stairs without getting winded?

[CoderGuy]

So this is the kind of stuff researchers waste their time and money on?

I think people's overall health is a much better indicator. There's probably 100's of things they could use as indicators. How about belly fat? or can they climb a flight of stairs without getting winded?

Now you're just talking crazy talk. It's all about the grip. I am going to sit in my easy chair and not move for as long as it takes to strengthen it. Grippy squeezy thing in one hand, Doritos in the other (switching off occasionally) and my beer and I will live forever.

[justintempler]

Trying for those 6 pack abs?

[Frosted]

Marriage tends to improve right hand grip.

[snusgetter]

When I read the article a couple of days ago I thought what a load of generalised rubbish.
My grandfather was a lifelong type 1 diabetic - he always did everything slowly in old age - getting out of a chair, walking etc. He died at 91.

So this is the kind of stuff researchers waste their time and money on?
I think people's overall health is a much better indicator. There's probably 100's of things they could use as indicators. How about belly fat? or can they climb a flight of stairs without getting winded?

Hold on just a minute! Or maybe another week...

Don'tcha know there are two sides to every coin?

An opposing view, from another well-funded project, should take center-stage fairly soon.

Well, looks like there's already a different viewpoint:

Trying for those 6 pack abs?

Unfortunately, a six-pack does not a documented research fund!

We may soon learn that if your grip is strong and you’re able to raise from a chair quickly, walk fast, and balance on one leg, chances are you're alive .... maybe!

"We just have to be patient," says Uncle Phil as he notices that today the Price Is (Not) Right!

[WickedKitchen]

You beat me to if Frosted...no pun intended. I'm a lefty but I'm workin' on my Popeye arms.

[snusgetter]

You beat me to if Frosted...no pun intended. I'm a lefty but I'm workin' on my Popeye arms.

A six-pack should also help with elbow movement.