A new study from the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) has found that having strong muscles may lower your chances of getting type 2 diabetes, even if you are genetically more likely to develop the disease.
The research showed that people with higher muscle strength had more than a 40% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those with low muscle strength.
These findings highlight how important it is to keep muscles strong to protect your health.
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a common long-term condition that affects how the body handles blood sugar. It happens when the body doesn’t use insulin well or doesn’t make enough of it. High blood sugar over time can damage the heart, blood vessels, eyes, and kidneys.
About one in ten people around the world have type 2 diabetes. It is influenced by both genetics and lifestyle. While people cannot change their genes, they can take steps to live a healthier life. One of these steps might be building stronger muscles.
The HKUMed team wanted to see if muscle strength could help prevent diabetes, even in people at high genetic risk. To do this, they looked at health and genetic data from 141,848 white British adults who were part of the UK Biobank, a large long-term study.
These people did not have diabetes when the study began. Muscle strength was measured using grip strength, a simple way to estimate overall muscle fitness. The genetic risk for diabetes was calculated using 138 known gene markers linked to the disease.
Over more than seven years of follow-up, 4,743 people developed type 2 diabetes. After analyzing the data, the researchers found that those with high muscle strength had a 44% lower chance of getting diabetes compared to those with low muscle strength.
This remained true even after accounting for their genetic risk and other health factors. This means that being strong can help protect against diabetes, no matter your family history.
Interestingly, the study also found that people with high genetic risk but strong muscles had a lower chance of getting diabetes than people with lower genetic risk but weak muscles.
This suggests that improving muscle strength could reduce the effects of genetic risk. It was the first time a study had clearly shown how muscle strength and genetics can work together to influence diabetes risk over time.
Dr. Wang Mengyao, the first author of the study, said that these results offer new insight into how muscle strength affects metabolic health. She stressed that building or maintaining strong muscles is important for preventing diabetes, especially in people who are middle-aged or older.
Professor Ryan Au Yeung, a co-author of the study, noted that big studies like the UK Biobank are valuable for showing how lifestyle and genetics interact. He also said that more research is needed in other populations, such as East Asians, to see if the same results apply.
The study supports public health advice that adults should do muscle-strengthening exercises at least two days per week. Professor Youngwon Kim, the senior author, added that this is especially important for people at greater risk of diabetes as they age.
In summary, this large study shows that stronger muscles are linked to lower risk of type 2 diabetes—no matter your genes.
Muscle strength can be improved with simple activities like lifting weights, doing push-ups, or using resistance bands. These findings suggest that staying strong isn’t just about fitness—it’s also a powerful tool to protect against a serious disease.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about Scientists find a promising treatment for type 2 diabetes and findings of Certain type 2 diabetes treatment may bring heart risks.
For more about diabetes, please read studies about New type 2 diabetes treatment could help patients stop taking insulin and findings of Scientists find true cause of inflammation in type 2 diabetes.
The study is published in BMC Medicine.
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