Thursday, July 17, 2008

Muscular Strength in Men Linked to Lower All-Cause and Cancer Mortality

“Muscular strength is linked with death from all causes and cancer in men, even after adjustment for cardiorespiratory fitness, according to the results of a prospective cohort study reported in the July 12 Online First issue of the BMJ. ‘Resistance exercise training increases muscular strength and is currently prescribed by major health organisations for improving health and fitness,’ write Jonatan R. Ruiz, from Karolinska Institutet in Huddinge, Sweden, and colleagues. "Likewise, cardiorespiratory fitness provides strong and independent prognostic information about the overall risk of illness and death in adults across a broad spectrum of ages. . . . Several prospective studies have shown that muscular strength is inversely associated with all cause mortality. "It might be possible to reduce all cause mortality among men by promoting regular resistance training involving the major muscle groups of the upper and lower body two or three days a week," the study authors conclude. ‘Resistance training should be a complement to rather than a replacement for aerobic exercise.’”

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/577540

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