Getting enough exercise is important for healthy aging, but new research suggests muscle strength may play an equally critical role. A large study led by researchers at the University at Buffalo found that older women with greater strength had a significantly lower risk of death, even after accounting for physical activity levels, cardiovascular fitness, and inflammation.
The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, were based on more than 5,000 women between the ages of 63 and 99. Researchers tracked participants for eight years and discovered that women with stronger grip strength and faster sit-to-stand chair test times were more likely to live longer.
Muscle Strength Linked to Lower Mortality
The study focused on two simple measures commonly used in medical settings to evaluate strength in older adults: grip strength and chair stands. For the chair stand test, participants completed five unassisted sit-to-stand movements as quickly as possible.
Women who performed better on these tests had notably lower mortality rates during the follow-up period. Researchers found that every additional 7 kilograms of grip strength was associated with an average 12% reduction in death risk. Faster chair stand performance was also linked to improved survival, with a 4% lower mortality rate for every 6-second improvement from the slowest to the fastest times.
Importantly, these results remained significant even after researchers adjusted for physical activity and sedentary behavior using accelerometer data, gait speed (an indicator of cardiovascular fitness), and levels of C-reactive protein, a blood marker of inflammation associated with muscle decline and premature death.
Why Strength Matters for Healthy Aging
“If you don’t have enough muscle strength to get up, it is going to be hard to do aerobic activities, such as walking, which is the most commonly reported recreational activity in U.S. adults ages 65 and older,” says study lead author Michael LaMonte, PhD, research professor of epidemiology and environmental health in UB’s School of Public Health and Health Professions.
“Muscular strength, in many ways, enables one to move their body from one point to another, particularly when moving against gravity,” LaMonte adds. “Healthy aging probably is best pursued through adequate amounts of both aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activities. When we no longer can get out of the chair and move around, we are in trouble.”
According to LaMonte, this is the largest study so far to examine how muscle strength relates to longevity in women over 60. Earlier large-scale studies often lacked detailed measures of physical activity, cardiovascular fitness, and inflammation, making it harder to isolate the role of muscular strength alone.
Researchers also found that body size did not explain the relationship between strength and longevity.
“We also showed that differences in body size did not explain the muscular strength relationship with death,” he says. “When we scaled the strength measures to body weight and even to lean body mass, there remained significantly lower mortality.”
Strength Benefits Extended Beyond Exercise Guidelines
One of the study’s most notable findings was that women who did not meet current physical activity recommendations still benefited from greater muscle strength. Current guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity each week.
Even among women below that threshold, higher strength levels were associated with significantly lower mortality risk. LaMonte says this provides strong evidence that muscle-strengthening activities deserve greater emphasis in public health recommendations, particularly for older adults.
“Because women ages 80 and older are the fastest growing U.S. age group, the importance of monitoring and maintaining muscular strength will have huge public health implications in the coming decades,” he says.
Simple Ways Older Adults Can Build Strength
Muscle-building activities do not necessarily require expensive gym equipment or intense workouts. Researchers note that free weights, dumbbells, weight machines, and bodyweight exercises such as modified push-ups, wall presses, and knee bends can all help improve strength.
LaMonte says everyday household items may also work as resistance tools.
“Even using soup cans or books as a form of resistance provides stimulus to skeletal muscles and could be used by individuals for whom other options are not feasible.”
He advises older adults to speak with a health care provider before beginning a muscle-strengthening program. Those unfamiliar with strength training may also benefit from guidance from a physical therapist or exercise specialist to help ensure safety and appropriate progress.
The study also included researchers from the National Cancer Institute, University of California San Diego, Texas A&M University, Brown University, Stanford University, and Fred Hutch Cancer Center.