Each year, more than 60,000 women die from the effects of osteoporosis, a disease of the bones that causes low bone density and weak bones that are more likely to break. That’s 20,000 more deaths than are caused by breast cancer and cervical cancer combined.

Despite these numbers, many Americans don’t take precautions against this potentially life-altering disease. In an April 2016 Harris Poll survey on osteoporosis, three-quarters of Americans said they were aware of the effects that osteoporosis can have on their health, yet only about half reported taking steps to prevent it.

Osteoporosis often goes unnoticed until it’s too late and a man or woman suffers a painful, life-changing fracture.
And each year, these bone breaks from osteoporosis result in:
 
Half a million hospitalizations
 
800,000 emergency room visits
 
2.6 million trips to the doctor
 
180,000 people being placed into nursing homes

Nearly 54 million Americans are living with osteoporosis or at risk for developing it. A variety of factors can put someone at risk for osteoporosis, including age, genetics, low body weight, lifestyle choices, and perhaps most importantly, a prior history of an osteoporotic bone break or a low-trauma fracture. Men and women over age 50, including postmenopausal women, are at risk for osteoporosis.

Strong muscles also help preserve and maintain healthy bone density. Especially for women and the elderly, bone density is important for preventing osteoporosis – and it’s not just about eating your calcium chews. Just like building muscle to prevent sarcopenic obesity later in life, improving bone density through strength training is another benefit that it’s best to start working on while you’re young. If nothing else, it’s much easier to maintain a habit you already have than to take up deadlifting at 65. This review even found that exercise increased bone density in preadolescent children: as long as the exercise is done at an age-appropriate intensity, there really is no age limit on the benefits.

Summary

Muscle loss is a key player in the cycle of obesity and diabetes. Gain muscle, and you improve your metabolic function and reduce your risk of fat gain. (Although it’s not a magic bullet, it’s also worth mentioning that muscle in the resting state burns more calories than fat, so it does raise your metabolism slightly).

On the other hand, if you lose muscle, your body has a harder time maintaining a healthy weight and a normal degree of insulin sensitivity. And worse still, the cumulative effect of sarcopenia, diabetes, and obesity is far greater than the sum of their individual problems. All three of these conditions magnify each other and keep you trapped in a vicious cycle of poor health.

This all goes double if you’re over 60. The elderly, as the population most at risk for muscle loss and fat gain, are especially prone to sarcopenic obesity, and have the most to gain from taking care of their muscles. But it doesn’t just affect the retiree crowd: in people who don’t regularly exercise, muscle loss starts around age 20. Preventing insulin resistance and weight gain in middle age, and heading off sarcopenic obesity in old age, start in the gym when you’re young.

#HealthyMusclesMatter