Grip Strength May Hold the Key to Healthier Aging

Credit: HubSpot

Improving your grip strength could be more than just about having a firm handshake — it might be a sign of better overall health and resilience against chronic disease.

A new study — which followed more than 93,000 adults enrolled in the U.K. Biobank over 13 years — suggests that stronger grip strength may help protect against the harmful effects of obesity and lower the risk of early death.

Although body mass index (BMI) is currently the main tool used to diagnose obesity, it doesn’t take into account variations in body composition or fat distribution, and doesn’t differentiate between fat and lean mass. Therefore, it may inaccurately estimate fat accumulation among age groups, sexes, ethnicities and certain populations, such as athletes.

Recent research has revealed muscle strength and function are potentially better indicators of the health risks linked to obesity. Decreasing muscle mass and strength, for example, have been associated with higher risks of of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. Low grip strength among people over 50 has been shown to independently predict mortality risk, regardless of BMI-defined obesity.

In the current study, investigators looked at how people progressed through what they called “preclinical obesity” — a stage where a person shows signs of excess body weight (like a high BMI, waist size, or body fat percentage) but hasn’t yet developed serious health complications such as diabetes, heart disease or mobility problems.

“To date, few studies have specifically investigated how muscle strength may influence the progression trajectories from preclinical obesity to clinical obesity and associated outcomes,” investigators explained.

They found that people with stronger handgrip strength — a simple measure of muscle function — were less likely to develop obesity-related health problems and less likely to die prematurely from any cause.

For every standard increase in grip strength, the risk of progressing from preclinical obesity to dysfunction (when health problems appear) dropped by 14%. Those in the highest grip strength group had the lowest risk of obesity-related decline and death, even after accounting for factors like age, sex and overall body composition.

The findings were consistent across multiple measures of muscle quality, including total lean mass and muscle-to-weight ratio, reinforcing the idea that muscle strength — not just muscle size — plays a vital role in long-term health.

What This Means for You

This study suggests that building and maintaining muscle strength may help delay or even prevent obesity-related health problems. Handgrip strength is a quick and inexpensive way to gauge overall muscle health — and it’s strongly linked to mobility, independence and longevity.

You don’t need to be a professional athlete to benefit. Activities that improve muscle strength — such as weight training, resistance bands, yoga or even carrying groceries regularly — may help strengthen your grip and, over time, protect your health.

Investigators noted that studies will be needed to better understand how and why muscle strength helps protect against obesity-related diseases.

“Our findings show that muscle strength is a powerful, early sign of who is most at risk of developing obesity-induced organ dysfunctions among people with excess body fat,” said study investigator Yun Shen, M.D., of Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. “Because grip strength is easy to measure and strength can be improved with weight training, this research points to a practical, low‑cost way to identify at‑risk individuals and to act early.”