Maybe you haven’t thought about it until now, but muscle mass is more and more important for your health as you get older. It’s good to start building it early, because later it will be more difficult.
It is true that we care about our weight mainly for aesthetic reasons, then because a socially acceptable weight is associated with a better state of health. But more and more research shows that the number on the scale does not matter as much as other factors, such as lifestyle.
A recent study published in the journal Nature set out to bring more information about what influences heart health in women, reports MindBodyGreen. Surprisingly, body weight and body fat were not at the top of the list. In fact, muscle mass may play a more important role.
Muscle mass is crucial for heart health
In the study, the researchers wanted to discover which is the important factor that influences arterial stiffness (an indicator of heart health) in the case of women: cardiorespiratory fitness (heart and lungs) or body composition.
The study analyzed 146 women aged between 16 and 58 years. The participants’ cardiorespiratory fitness was measured using an exercise test, and the researchers also collected body fat percentage, fat-free mass index (a measure of fat-free tissue such as bone, muscle and fluid) and mean arterial pressure (that is, arterial pressure in the arteries).
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Then, these findings were analyzed together with the arterial stiffness of the participants to see which associations stand out.
The two biggest factors associated with arterial stiffness were fat-free mass index and mean arterial pressure. Specifically, higher fat-free mass (muscle mass) and lower mean arterial pressure were both linked to lower arterial stiffness, thus a healthier heart in the long term.
This held true in the study regardless of body fat percentage, but older age was associated with arterial stiffness. This means that muscle mass may play a more important role in heart health than body fat or total body weight, but age also plays a factor (especially as women tend to lose muscle mass faster as they age).
Increasing muscle mass through lifestyle changes, such as more exercise and weight training, as well as a higher intake of quality protein in your diet, can greatly help you to avoid cardiovascular disease, as well as other chronic diseases , as you get older.
Metabolic health is not just about weight
Arterial stiffness is a precursor to heart disease and could signal other health problems. Healthy arteries are flexible, which allows them to widen or narrow easily to regulate blood flow and blood pressure.
Below, the MindBodyGreen specialists propose some ways in which we can support our arterial and metabolic health to reduce our risk of heart problems, without becoming an obsession with body weight.
Resistance training
Resistance training (with weights) is the best for increasing muscle mass, which offers huge metabolic benefits.
If you don’t like lifting weights, you can also try barre, Pilates or yoga to increase your strength.
Eat for health, not for weight
The ideal is to eat to support our health, not to lose weight. The decision to eat whole foods, rich in nutrients, minimally processed is the best for our body and our long-term health, even if the weight does not meet expectations. However, when you eat healthy and do exercises that increase muscle mass, your physical appearance is visibly improved.
Make sure that you include in your diet the optimal dose of protein from high-quality animal or vegetable sources.
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2023-11-01 06:13:23
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