Your handshake may say more about your health than you think. Doctors increasingly view grip strength as a quick and inexpensive way to signal larger problems. Indeed, Mark Peterson, a professor at the University of Michigan Medical School, considers it to be more effective in predicting cardiovascular disease than blood pressure. Measured using a small device called a handgrip dynamometer that you press for a few seconds, grip strength offers insight into overall muscle power, he explains to The Wall Street Journal. For 50-year-old men, the median grip strength is about 100 pounds; for women, it’s 64 pounds.
“Just because we care about the forearm muscles doesn’t mean it’s helpful,” says Peterson. “It’s strongly associated with any muscular strength or weakness. If someone has a very weak grip, they are at very high risk for whole-body fragility and weakness.” Low adherence scores have also been linked to higher risks of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, stroke and dementia. Experts emphasize that seeking greater pressure alone will not prolong your life. Instead, they recommend a full-body strength workout, with grip strength as another helpful vital sign. Read the full article here.
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