In this day of health elixirs, potions and superfoods that reportedly maintain or improve human health, or help cure all illness and ailments, it’s easy to see how we can lose sight of the fundamental construct of our body that we can use to attain the health benefits we seek.
Often talked about in elite athlete or bodybuilding circles are the volume of muscle on our bodies and the quality of that muscle relating to performance. Rarely is the importance of muscle volume and strength (we will use the term quality) discussed in relation to overall quality of life and reducing Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY), particularly relating to chronic diseases.
DALY is the years calculated that we lose due to health factors such as chronic disease and early death.
Muscle volume doesn’t have to be in the form of hulking mountains of mass rolling into chiselled abdominal muscles, bulging biceps, or the chest of Adonis. For the general population, it can be having a healthy percentage of lean muscle mass as part of the body composition in relation to all the components of our body.
Although there is research on the ideal muscle volume for an individual, most have a variation based on factors such as ethnic background.
How does muscle quality relate to health?
The loss of muscle volume and strength due to the ageing process is defined as Sarcopenia, although there are situations where we lose muscle from factors such as disease, inactivity, and poor lifestyle choices at a younger age.
A systemic review and meta-analysis (one of the highest quality analyses into a selected researched subject) published in 2022 which covered an overall population group of 30,322 people, found there was a significant decrease in the health-related quality of life in those living in the community with sarcopenia than those who did not.
This review also reflected that there was also a greater decrease in health-related quality of life for those in care, compared to those living in the community.
What diseases can be related to the loss of muscle quality and volume?
Osteoporosis and osteopenia are common bone degeneration issues affecting 3.4 per cent of the population in Australia. After the age of 50 years in both men and women, this increases to almost one third of the population. Lack of or loss of muscle quality is related to the onset of this condition.
How does muscle affect our bone density?
One way to maintain our bones in a strong and healthy condition during our lifetime is to place the bones under impact force, which stimulates the building of bone. If we have good muscle volume and strength, continual force is directed onto our bones through our everyday movements and exercise of our skeletal muscles.
The forces stimulate the destruction of poor bone structure and replaces them with a stronger remodeled bone material.
This is through forces causing Osteoclast cell production whose role is to remove old, damaged, or dying bone matrix, and Osteoblasts cell production to rebuild and reinforce our bones with healthy robust material.
Healthier bones have healthier bone marrow (where these two cell types are produced) allowing higher production of the Osteoclast and Osteoblast cells. Think of impact force as an acute method and quality muscle force as chronic.
Along with some simple dietary changes, these can help reverse or stabilise bone density. Poor muscle quality will have a reduced chronic stimulation and may not allow us to feel strong, stable, or competent enough to undertake impact exercises safely.
Another unfortunately common disease that muscle quality has a bearing on is most diagnosed cancers, their treatments, and the recovery process.
Cancer implications
One of the most insidious and ever evolving diseases we face in our modern society is cancer of all forms. The way cancer cells encounter modern treatments, evaluate how the treatment is affecting the tumor, then changes its own make-up to be less susceptible to the treatment is frightening.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of research into muscle quality and its effects on cancer (a total of 46,694 people), found there was a 31-46 per cent reduced risk of all cancer mortality in patients with a higher muscle quality and higher cardiorespiratory fitness compared to those with what was considered a lower level in each.
In patients with later stage cancers there was an 8-46 per cent reduction in all cause mortality in those who had a higher muscle quality and cardiorespiratory fitness level. Their overall recommendation was that exercise specifically designed to improve muscle quality and cardiorespiratory fitness for the cancer patients can reduce the risks of cancer related mortality.
Having better muscle quality and higher cardiorespiratory levels reduces the risk of cancer through inflammation reduction, helping weight control and obesity reduction, and decreased inactivity (as well as many others).
How to improve muscle quality and respiratory levels?
Across multiple health authorities in Australia and worldwide the recommendation is two to three resistance training sessions per week and either 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous cardiovascular exercise per week.
There are hundreds of good body weight exercises which can be used for convenience if attending a gym or fitness facility is not available.
The difference between moderate and vigorous cardiovascular exercise is moderate exercise means you can have a conversation however you will need deep breaths during or after sentences, while vigorous means you are unlikely able to hold a conversation, and you are breathing in and out deeply.
This is thought to be ideal for all disease prevention in all populations.
We need to balance our cardiovascular and resistance exercise for muscle quality to maximise the benefits to our health, but by focusing on one or the other, we risk not achieving the results we are aiming for.
Muscle volume and quality can be attained with multiple disciplines that we have available. Talk to an exercise professional about the best choice for you as an individual to stave off the effects of age and fight even the most insidious of diseases.
David Hoffmann
MExerMed (Oncology), BSpExSc.
