Age Wise

Greater Longevity is in Your Grasp

Strong grip and an agile body predict longer life

Robert Roy Britt
Elemental
Published in
5 min readAug 10, 2021

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Image: James Chan / Pixabay

You probably should not sit down to hear this news: How well your body works as you get older — measured by things like grip strength, the ability to get out of a chair, and how fast you can walk — can predict how many years you might have left in this world. Add that to previous findings that a sedentary lifestyle predicts worse physical and mental health later on and a shorter life overall, and a clear conclusion emerges:

No matter your age, there’s no time like the present to get off the couch and start upping your odds of a longer and healthier existence.

Motor function, also called physical function, declines as we get older, but the rate varies by individual, and it can be hastened or delayed by a person’s level of physical activity and a host of other factors in and out of our control, from genetics to diet and, no surprise, physical activity. In fact, a sedentary lifestyle has been linked directly to frailty in old age, which all by itself sets a person up for falls, broken bones, disability, and poor health overall.

Previous research has linked poor motor function late in life to a higher risk of premature death, but it has not been clear how predictive this measure might be nor…

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Elemental
Elemental

Published in Elemental

Elemental is a former publication from Medium for science-backed health and wellness coverage. Currently inactive and not taking submissions.

Robert Roy Britt
Robert Roy Britt

Written by Robert Roy Britt

Editor of Wise & Well on Medium + the Writer's Guide at writersguide.substack.com. Author of Make Sleep Your Superpower: amazon.com/dp/B0BJBYFQCB