Doing muscle strengthening exercises for between 30 and 60 minutes every week is linked to a 10-20% reduced risk of death from all causes, according to the findings of a major international study reported today.
Researchers, led by the Department of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan, say their analysis points to a J-shaped curve for most outcomes, with no conclusive evidence that more than an hour a week of muscle strengthening activity reduces risks further.
Writing in the *British Journal of Sports Medicine*, they say their analysis from pooled data shows while there was a reduced risk of all deaths, it was particularly reduced from cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer.
Although previous research has suggested muscle strengthening activity is associated with a lower risk of death, the optimum length of time was not known.
For this study, the team looked for research databases for relevant prospective observational studies that included adults without major health issues who had been monitored for at least two years.
The final analysis included 16 observational studies, the earliest of which was published in 2012. Most studies were undertaken in the USA, with the rest from England, Scotland, Australia, and Japan. The maximum monitoring period lasted 25 years.
Between 4,000 and almost 480,000 participants, whose ages ranged from 18 to 97, took part in the studies, all of which examined aerobic or other types of physical activity as well as muscle strengthening activities.
J-shaped curve
The pooled data analysis showed that muscle strengthening activities were associated with a 10-17% lower risk of death from any cause, as well as death from heart disease and stroke, cancer, diabetes, and lung cancer.
No association was found between muscle strengthening and a reduced risk of specific types of cancer, including those of the bowel, kidney, bladder or pancreas.
The researchers said a J-shaped curve emerged, with a maximum risk reduction of between 10-20% between 30 and 60 minutes per week of muscle strengthening activities for death from any cause, cardiovascular disease, and all cancer.
An L-shaped association was observed for diabetes, with a large risk reduction up to 60 minutes a week of muscle strengthening activities, after which there was a gradual tapering off.
Joint analysis of muscle strengthening and aerobic activities showed that the reduction in risk of death from any cause, cardiovascular disease, and cancer was even greater when these two types of activities were combined: 40%, 46% and 28% lower, respectively.
The authors say that given the J-shaped associations, the potential of a higher volume of muscle strengthening activities on the reduction in risk of death is unclear, but they add: “The combination of muscle strengthening and aerobic activities may provide a greater benefit for reducing all-cause and total cancer mortality.
“Given that the available data are limited, further studies – such as studies focusing on a more diverse population – are needed to increase the certainty of the evidence.”
Momma H, Kawakami R, Honda T et al. Muscle-strengthening activities are associated with lower risk and mortality in major non-communicable diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. * British Journal of Sports Medicine* 1 March 2022; doi 10.1136/bjsports-2021-105061
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