The Size Of Your Calves Could Predict How Long You’ll Live

We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about how the size of a person’s temporalis (chewing) muscle could reveal their dementia risk.

And your glutes’ strength and size may even show how you’re ageing.

As it turns out, another muscle measure – our calf size – has been associated with a longer lifespan, too.

This seemed especially true in older adults.

In 2021, researchers published a paper after following 796 older adults over nine years.

By the end of the study, 197 of the participants had died. Those with a low BMI (less than 18.5) were at a significantly higher risk of mortality.

And of those studied, older adults with calf circumferences under 31cm seemed to have roughly double the risk of death during the almost-decade-long follow-up period.

The study authors concluded calf circumference “was an independent predictor of mortality”.

A systemic review involving 37 cohort studies, meanwhile, found that for a 1cm increase in calf circumference results, the risk of death decreased by 5%.

Yet another paper suggested that calf circumference is “is a convenient and predictable marker of frailty in older adults,” having shown that the “best cut-off value was 29.5 cm in [men] and 28.5 cm in women”.

We can’t say for sure yet. But some researchers think that it could reveal a person’s level of sarcopenia, or age-related muscle loss.

The lower our muscle mass, especially as we age, the likelier we are to face issues like falls and frailty.

Scientists have learned that stronger, more active calves seem to lower our risk of conditions like type 2 diabetes, too.

Luckily, it’s possible to grow your calves. PureGym suggests two to four training sessions a week.

Some exercises that could help include:

• Calf raises,
• Pogo jumps,
• Skipping,
• Weighted farmer’s carries.

And if you’re a little gym-shy, walking uphill seems to go a long way, too.