MASS APPEAL
Want to sleep better, build brainpower and supercharge your metabolism? (Of course, you do.) Picking up a dumbbell might be the best way to get there.
MMuscle mass decreases about three to eight per cent per decade after the age of 30 – the rate of decline is even higher after 60.
ost of you know having excess body fat is linked to serious issues such as heart disease, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. But, recently, science has thrown us a curveball. Studies are now showing that many overweight people are healthier than slimmer folks – yes, healthier – even though they carry more body fat. Turns out, the problem isn’t just having too much fat, it’s not having enough muscle, too, says Professor Carla Prado from the University of Alberta in Canada. Her research shows that women with a ‘healthy’ BMI but low levels of lean muscle have the highest risk of death, even compared with those who have excess body fat.
That’s worrying, because Professor Prado has noticed that low muscle levels are rife among women of all ages. The likely cause? A combination of declining activity (only 15 per cent of adults are meeting the national exercise guidelines, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) and the increasing popularity of detox and ultra-lowkilojoule diets to lose weight. “This [approach] risks losing your lean muscle mass rather than your fat mass,” says Van Marinos, ESSA exercise scientist and founder of Community Moves. “Your scale weight may go down, but if it’s due to a loss in mostly muscle mass, you’re actually increasing your body fat percentage and reducing your ability to burn more energy as you lose your active muscle tissue.” That’s on top of the muscle mass women naturally lose as they age.
Thankfully, there’s nowhere to go but up. “You can always build muscle,” says Dr Suzette Pereira, a microbiologist and muscle researcher. Ditto for maintaining what you already have. “Give it the right input – exercise and nutrition – and it will grow,” she says. And when it does, the mind and body benefits are nearly endless. Let us count the ways.