More Muscle, Less Insulin Resistance

We typically think in simplistic terms when it comes to weight.  More is bad, less is good.  Body mass index (BMI) takes height into account but doesn't separate out men from women, nor large bone structure from small.  On the other hand, weight & height are easy to measure and BMI is easy to calculate.  We mostly agree that being overweight & obese (not just as determined by BMI) but also by waistline is bad for you.  But does imitating a beanpole really do you any good healthwise?  In other words, what if you're so lean & skinny to such a degree that you don't carry around much muscle mass at all? 

In a study published just last month in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, the authors evaluated the health of 13,644 participants of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survery III and determined that more muscle is a good thing.  In fact, everything else being equal, including age, sex, ethnicity, and obesity (both generalized & central), more muscle was associated with less insulin resistance and diabetes.   So after your run/swim/bike ride, don't forget to add some resistance exercise to your regimen.  And remember that even 10-15min/d is better than none at all.