09/02/2026
Grip Strength and living longer..?
The one surprising - and simple - movement that predicts how long you'll live!
I found this great article in “The Senior” by Lisa Edser, posted on 29th Jan, which is a good one about how a persons grip strength is an indicator of someone’s life expectancy, according to Experts.
https://www.thesenior.com.au/story/9163362/grip-strength-is-the-key-to-longevity-and-can-improve-health/
I think it is universally understood and accepted that staying active by regular walks and workouts, playing sport, dancing etc, as you age keeps you strong, maintains bone density, helps balance and improves cognition. If you add a nice balanced diet with fresh ingredients and drink in moderation. Plus staying connected with people with regular social interaction and well as do some puzzles and games, like crosswords, sudoku, mahjong, or scrabble, cards, chess etc that involve some strategy… Well you are not only going to feel great and be living a great life, you are also most likely to live quite a long one!
So when I see an article like this that focusses in on Grip Strength specifically and how that makes you live longer, I end up digging a little deeper.. especially if there is no reference to the study itself and just some quotes from some exercise experts and sports scientists. Which was disappointing Lisa. But with a bit of Google I found a study that I am pretty sure inspired the article.
It’s a study by the University of Adelaide and 140 other contributors and authors around the world. It covers 69 countries and over 2.4m people!! So it’s a genuine study on a serious amount of data about how ‘handgrip strength’ is a reliable predictor for age-related disease and disability. https://unisa.edu.au/media-centre/Releases/2024/getting-a-grip-on-health-norms/ .
The researchers have basically standardised benchmarks in grip strength across the globe and rated the relevance to chronic disease so that it can be accurately measured and used as a Bio Marker of general muscle strength.
This has a big advantage for a GP or OT or any health professional because a handgrip dynamometer (that measures grip strength) is small and inexpensive and quick and easy to use compared to other strength measuring devices which tend to be very large and very costly…
Many of you may have done one of these tests before, you basically grab the gripper and squeeze as hard as you can for as long as you can while the machine measures the force. SO a GP can get you to squeeze a handgrip dynamometer, measure your results against the benchmarks and know straight away you are more prone to ailments and chronic diseases, book tests for those diseases and give you a program to be active and build more muscle.
Exercise and Sports Science Australia (ESSA) interim chief executive Katie Lyndon was quoted in the article saying. "Given that low grip strength is associated with a range of chronic conditions, including cardiovascular disease, stroke, and even some forms of cancer, it's valuable to consult an Accredited Exercise Physiologist (AEP) to find out how you can improve your grip strength," The study itself also found strong links between grip strength and falls, people with higher grip strength fall less and injure themselves less when they do fall.
BUT before you race out and get one of those grip strengthening devices and settle in on the couch with a packet of Tim Tams and start squeezing your way to a healthier you, you need to understand that Grip Strength is just a Bio Marker for general/overall strength. So while improving your Grip strength is very beneficial, especially in day-to-day tasks, the actual Study showed its your overall strength that is the key, and thanks to this study, Grip Strength is a now very accurate and simple way to measure that.
SO unfortunately grip strength alone won’t make you live forever and just like every other study I’ve read on ‘Ageing well’ and ‘Living Longer’ that on the surface looks like some magic life hack to longevity, the studies always come back to at least one of the same 4 simple things.
• Stay physically active
• Stay mentally active
• Stay Socially active
• Eat well
I do have to add that a Retirement Village like Renaissance Living Surrey Hills is an excellent place to do all of the above.
David Scott
