The PMID in the initial post was not correct. Here's the link to the study I referenced regarding the 'fat but powerful' paradox!
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33727213/
Muscle power—your ability to generate force quickly—is one of the strongest predictors of longevity, even more so than being lean. This is sometimes referred to as the 'fat but powerful' paradox.
In a recent study, older adults with normal and high levels of relative muscle power had better 9-year survival than older adults with low muscle power.
Muscle power was even protective against death in older adults with high levels of body fatness measured using BMI and waist circumference.
Being fat and powerful reduced mortality just as much as being lean and powerful—by 43–45%.
Being lean and weak, however, provided no survival advantage compared to being fat and weak.
Interestingly, when body fatness was measured using body fat percentage or the fat index (body fat % normalized to height), the protective effect of muscle power was mitigated—only lean and powerful participants experienced a mortality benefit.
This highlights the continued importance of minimizing excess adiposity for long-term health, even when physical fitness is optimized.
The takeaway here isn’t to downplay the risks of obesity for longevity—maintaining a healthy weight is still critical. But fitness, particularly muscle power, deserves more attention as a key lever we can pull to improve both lifespan and healthspan. It’s one of the most actionable metrics to track and improve.
If you want to know more about muscle power for longevity and how to improve it, I’ll cover it in this week’s newsletter.
Study - PMID: 38523229
@angiyo58 This is beautiful! I'm thinking of creating a slide show of relaxing/soothing images to use with visualization exercises; can I use this picture?
@Safaricom_Care I am having trouble accessing my data bundles. I have data but my phone gives me a "no Internet message". Also when I query *544# I no longer get a full summary, I keep getting redirected to a link that doesn't work. Your customer care number does not have the option I need.
Happy new week everyone. The weekend is over, but the fun doesn’t stop. Lots of airtime still to be won, tag watu wako to give them a chance to win. Today’s tip, unalipia every month after kuitumia 😉. Tupatane 2pm #CustomerObsessionMonth
Many places in Nairobi and wider Kenya derive their origins from Maasai words. But what do these names reveal about the history, geography and history of Kenya?
What do they teach us about the importance of language for historical preservation? Let’s dive in.
THREAD
Cults are made possible by the enlightenment split between reason and faith. In socio-economic crisis, reason is not enough to bear the weight of struggle on the soul. Reason is heartless and impersonal. So people cant apply reason to tear them away from religious exploitation.
It makes no sense for the middle class to take sides for either of the two main political parties. What were we bringing to the table? We didn't have the money and state resources which politicians have to mobilize and attack each others' interests.
A thread on the use of paw paw leaves ash in controlling weevils and grain borers.
On several occasions, I saw my grandmother use ash from pawpaw leaves to control weevils in her stored grains #seeds#ash#pawpaw
bell hooks said, "The first act of violence that patriarchy demands of males is not violence toward women. Instead patriarchy demands of all males that they engage in acts of psychic self-mutilation, that they kill off the emotional parts of themselves..."
Today’s jobs report shows that the economy added 528,000 jobs in July.
More people are working than at any point in American history. That’s no accident, it’s results.
A thread: Why Africa needs ownership of its health security 👇🏾
Despite @AfricaCDC recording 10000 monkeypox cases & 600 deaths in 2 yrs (20/21), @WHO stockpiled vaccines were only mobilised when monkeypox was identified in far fewer cases and no deaths in rich countries in 2022