Tag Archive for: quality of life

Lift Five Kilos to Live Better

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Anybody up for knocking out 25 pushups? How about 10? How about just one? Let’s make it more practical: pick up your largest cast iron frypan or Dutch oven. Or pick up a 10-pound sack of flour or sugar and lift it over your head. Can you do it? Who cares? Maybe you should, and here’s why.

Researchers examined data collected between 2013 and 2020 from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (commonly called SHARE). This includes 16 countries and has over 51,000 participants over the age of 50 who have joined the study. The participants were tracked for over four years. The participants provided medical histories, health habits, and included some physical testing at baseline and then twice afterward including handgrip strength. Key question was, “Can you lift five kilos (11 pounds)?”

After analyzing the data, researchers found that those subjects who could not lift five kilos had higher risks for developing a low quality of life, depression, low handgrip strength, and osteoarthritis. In addition, they were also at risk for rheumatoid arthritis, heart attack, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, or hip fracture. Nothing good on that list for sure.

This was an observational study, so cause and effect cannot be established. But the genius of the study was using objects used in everyday life that weighed about five kilos. That demonstrates that age-related sarcopenia, the loss of muscle, really can impact life, and the risk increases the older that we get. You don’t have to have Hulk-sized muscle, but you still need to maintain a practical amount muscle strength as you get older. Time to hit the weight room or yoga or exercise tubes!

Insiders Call Is Tomorrow

For all those who’ve let me know about their vegetable and fruit intake over the 4th, I’ll send out the log-in information Wednesday morning so you can participate in tomorrow’s Insider call. Main topic is a look at some of the products such as drinks and patches that seem to be highly promoted these days; fact or fiction? You’ll find out tomorrow and find out what being an Insider is like.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: Nature. Scientific Reports. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-03128-y

Can Cutting Calories Improve Your Mood?

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In research like the CALERIE study, there’s a tendency to focus on physical changes but what about mood, depression, and quality of life (QOL)? Did researchers find changes in those variables as well? Let’s take a look. While the two-year span of the data analyzed varied slightly from other phases of the study, physiological results were virtually identical to the other phases I’ve talked about in previous Memos.

Testing Procedures

For those readers familiar with the assessment tools typically used in measuring psychological variables, here’s a list of the instruments they used.

Mood: Beck Depression Inventory-II [BDI-II] and the Profile of Mood States [POMS]

QOL: Rand 36-Item Short Form and Perceived Stress Scale

Sleep: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [PSQI]

Sexual function: Derogatis Interview for Sexual Function Self-report

Results

For simplicity’s sake, I won’t use numbers to report the results, because unless one is familiar with the scale for each assessment it wouldn’t be meaningful. Every following relationship was statistically significant or correlated. Compared with the ad libitum (AL) group, the caloric restriction (CR) group had significantly improved mood, reduced tension, and improved general health and sexual drive at month 24. Sleep duration had improved by month 12 and was sustained through month 24.

Greater percent weight loss in the CR group at month 24 was associated with increased vigor and less mood disturbance, improved general health, and better sleep quality. The researchers concluded that there was no negative impact of CR on psychological variables in normal-weight people.

I have a tendency to put more faith in measurable variables such as blood pressure or heart rate than inventories and questionnaires, but the results demonstrated that all measures moved in a positive direction when restricting calories: better perception of mood, health, QOL, more and better sleep, and even sexual vigor. There are indications that CR may be beneficial even in people who are normal weight.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: JAMA Intern Med. 2016 Jun 1;176(6):743-52.