From this Scientific American article, Muscle Mass Beats BMI as Longevity Predictor:
“Researchers analyzed BMI and muscle mass data from more than 3,600 seniors in a long-term study. And they tracked which seniors had died, a decade later. Turns out BMI wasn't much good at predicting chance of death.
But muscle mass was: more muscle meant better odds of survival.”
BMI is a dubious measurement to begin with. Pictured is Mike Tyson. According to BMI charts he would be classified as clinically obese. He is not fat and has substantial muscle mass.
More muscle mass leads to a host of positive benefits: more strength, increased gait speed, enhanced flexibility, increased bone density, lower likelihood of falling, increased likelihood of surviving a fall without injury, higher metabolism, lower blood sugar, less chance of developing metabolic syndrome, and better able to positively stress the cardiovascular system just to name a few benefits.
People are usually not put in nursing homes because they're out of breath; it's usually because they lack the strength to carry out daily activities on their own. With proper strength training you can increase your muscle mass – even seniors, and you’ll feel better. At New Orleans Fitness Trainers and Austin Fitness trainers our strength training program is designed to be efficient and effective in getting those benefits listed above and live longer with a higher quality of life.