back
Some
related articles : |
 |
Birth
Weight Linked to Later Muscle Strength
By Alison McCook
Reuters Health, October 7, 2002
Babies with relatively
high birth weights may be more likely than others to have strong muscles
in middle age, new study findings suggest. Although middle-aged adults who
had a low birth weight may tend to have relatively weaker muscles, as
well, Dr. Diana Kuh of the Royal Free and University College Medical
School in London emphasized that those who stay active will not be doomed
to a life of frailty. "Everybody brings sources of risk to their
health from previous life experiences," Kuh noted. "The effects
we have shown are interesting because they provide clues about how
environmental factors across the life course influence muscle strength.
But they may have no discernible effect on the quality of life, especially
if physical activity is maintained." Kuh and her colleagues base
their findings on examinations of 1,371 men and 1,404 women aged 53. The
researchers asked them their weight at birth and used a device to measure
grip strength in both hands, noting only the highest value. Reporting in
the recent issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology, the
investigators found that as birth weight increased, so did grip strength
among the middle-aged adults. This relationship existed independently of
the effects of adult height and weight, Kuh and her colleagues note. In an
interview with Reuters Health, Kuh said that these findings demonstrate
that early influences on development can have very long-lasting effects.
Kuh explained that if a fetus does not receive enough nutrition in the
womb, he or she may be born with both low birth weight and a deficit in
the number of muscle fibers, since these are determined at or soon after
birth. A decrease in muscle fibers is an important consequence of this
early, inadequate environment, the researcher added. People need grip
strength and other muscle power for more than arm wresting, she said--for
example, to carry out their day-to-day activities like getting up from a
chair, picking up a kettle and walking around. "Muscle strength is
lost with age, and once a certain threshold is reached, an individual's
ability to carry out these tasks may be impaired," she said.
"This could have serious consequences--for example, by increasing the
risk of osteoporotic fractures." However, Kuh added, if all people,
regardless of birth weight, keep up good levels of physical activity, they
can maintain muscle strength into old age. "The main determinant of
muscle strength is physical activity," Kuh said. "These results
emphasize the importance of encouraging weight bearing activity in men and
women, whatever their age or birth weight."
.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This
page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been
specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Action on Aging
distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a
prior interest in receiving the included information for research and
educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such
copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to
use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go
beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
|
