力量訓練能增加長壽幾率

來自專欄夏面雙語新聞1 人贊了文章

If you want to up your odds of living a longer, healthier life, you might want to consider lifting weights.

當你想要增加健康長壽的幾率時，你可能會考慮舉重。

People who have strong muscles are more likely to reach an older age than weaker peers, according to new research from the University of Michigan.

密歇根大學的一項新研究表明，肌肉發達的人比肌肉少的人可能活得更長。

The researchers say that its never too late to take up muscle-building workouts - and may even be most important for older people to work on strength training than it is for younger ones.

研究人員稱，增強肌肉的運動是各個年齡階段都能進行的運動，老年人甚至可能比年輕人更需要力量訓練。

But dont worry about bulking up: the study authors found that its muscle strength, not mass, that makes a difference for longevity.

但是，你不需要擔心自己會變成大塊頭：研究作者發現，對於長壽而言，肌肉強度比體形更有說服力。

Americans are aging. The baby boomers make up 20 percent of the American population and within the next decade, they will all reach senior status.

美國人正在走向老齡化，嬰兒潮時代出生的人佔了美國人口的20%，他們在隨後的十年中都會成為老年人。

Already, nearly half of all adults over 65 live with a disability that makes living on their own difficult. Soon, even more will need assistance.

約半數的65歲以上人群擁有讓生活不能自理殘疾，不久，還有很多的人將加入這個行列。

There is nothing to do to stop aging, but staying strong can dramatically reduce the effects of age and its burden on society.

沒有什麼能讓阻止人的衰老，但是保持強壯能極大地減少衰老的影響和其對社會的負擔。

We know that good diets and generally remaining active have protective effects against heart disease, diabetes and even cancer.

我們知道保持健康的飲食習慣和經常運動能讓人們遠離心臟病、糖尿病甚至是癌症。

But the latest research shows that we would be wise to focus not just on exercises that get our heart rates up, but on weight lifting too.

但是最新的研究顯示，如果我們不僅僅是將注意力集中在提高心率的運動上，而是舉重的話，那會更加的明智。

Maintaining muscle strength throughout life - and especially in later life - is extremely important for longevity and aging independently, said lead study author Dr Kate Duchowny.

「一生中都保持肌肉強度，尤其是在老年的時候，對長壽和獨自對抗衰老來說極其重要，」 主要研究作者凱特.道馳伊博士說道。

And among the most important parts to keep strong are our hands, according to Dr Duchowny and her team.

道馳伊及他的團隊指出，在所有部位肌肉中，手部肌肉是最為重要的。

There arent a lot of workout programs designed just for hands, but grip strength is a key measure of overall strength and decline as people get older.

手部的鍛煉項目不是很多，但是握力是整體力量中的一個重要部分，它會隨著衰老而降低。

Its easy to forget, but hands are key to just about every function of independent living: bathing and dressing oneself, cleaning, cooking, even handling objects.

人們很容易就忽視它，但是雙手對於每個人的獨立生活能力：洗澡、穿衣、清潔、做飯，甚至是處理事物來說都十分關鍵。

The University of Michigan team analyzed grip strength of more than 8,300 men and women that take part in their Health and Retirement study.

密歇根大學團隊人員分析了參加健康和退休研究中的8300男士和女士的握力。

Nearly half - 46 percent- of the study participants had hand grip strengths that fell in to the weak muscle category,

在這個研究中，幾乎半數(46%)的參與者的握力都屬於「肌力弱」的類型。

And that number was significant: according to the University of Michigan study, previous work has suggested that only some 13 percent of the American senior population has such poor strength.

這個數字十分龐大：根據密歇根大學的研究，之前只有13%的美國老年人屬於肌力弱的範疇。

But the Health and Retirement study group was meticulously designed to be more representative of the demographics of the US and, once those populations were included, the number of older people with weak muscles multiplied.

但是，該健康和退休研究組設計了更加符合美國的人口統計學特徵，十分細緻，一旦將這些人納入了這項研究中，肌力弱的老年人數量加倍增加。

Using their more diverse sample, the University of Michigan team established their own unique threshold points by which to define muscle weakness.

使用了他們各種各樣的樣品後，密歇根大學團隊的人員得出了定力肌力弱的獨特的界線點。

We believe our cut-points more accurately reflect the changing population trends of older Americans and that muscle weakness is a serious public health concern, said Dr Duchowny.

「我們相信，這些分界點更加準確地反應了美國老年人口的變化趨勢，肌力弱是一種嚴重的公共健康問題。」 道馳伊博士說道。

Many aging studies—not just those on muscle strength—are conducted on largely white populations. However, as the U.S. population becomes increasingly diverse, it is critical to use nationally representative data for these types of studies.

「很多的老齡化研究--不僅僅是肌肉強度方面的研究--都是在大量的白種人中展開的。然而，隨著美國人口變得越來越多元化，在這類型的研究中使用具有國家代表性的數據變得尤為重要。」

Even after accounting for other variables like smoking, survival times dropped off dramatically with diminished muscle strength.

甚至在考慮到吸煙等可變因素後，存活率依然隨著肌力減弱而劇烈下降。

People who met the weak muscle threshold were more than 50 percent more likely to die an early death than stronger individuals were.

肌力弱的人的早死幾率比肌力強的人大50%。

Having hand grip strength be an integral part of routine care would allow for earlier interventions, which could lead to increased longevity and independence for individuals.

「測量握力是早期干預日常護理的不可或缺的部分，這將讓人們更加的長壽，生活自理能力更強。」

source:Want to live longer? Lift weights: People with weak muscles die sooner