Grip Strength and Healthy Aging: What the Science Really Tells Us
Could the strength of your handshake tell us something meaningful about how well you are aging?
Surprisingly, yes.
Grip strength has emerged as a simple but useful marker of overall muscular strength, physical function, frailty risk and health status. Researchers have also found associations between lower grip strength and cardiovascular disease, disability and mortality. In fact, some researchers have suggested that grip strength deserves consideration alongside other measurements used to assess health in older adults.
But there is an important distinction to understand:
A stronger grip isn't necessarily making you live longer. Grip strength appears to tell us something about the health and resilience of the body as a whole.
That distinction matters.
Why Are Researchers So Interested in Grip Strength?
Grip strength is usually measured with a device called a handgrip dynamometer. The person squeezes the device as hard as possible for several seconds, generally repeating the test two or three times. But we're not measuring grip strength simply because we're concerned about the muscles in your hands. Grip strength serves as a convenient indicator of overall muscular strength and function.
As Mark Peterson, PhD, a professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Michigan, recently explained to The Wall Street Journal, someone who demonstrates significant weakness in grip strength is also more likely to demonstrate weakness throughout the body. That makes grip strength potentially useful as another piece of information when assessing how well someone is aging.
What Does Grip Strength Have to Do With Longevity?
One of the most frequently cited studies comes from the large Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study published in The Lancet. Researchers evaluated 139,691 adults between ages 35 and 70 from 17 countries and followed them for a median of four years. After adjusting for other factors, every 5-kilogram (approximately 11-pound) decrease in grip strength was associated with:
16% higher risk of death from any cause
17% higher risk of cardiovascular death
7% higher risk of myocardial infarction
9% higher risk of stroke
This Finding Isn't Based on One Study
The association between grip strength and health outcomes has appeared repeatedly. An umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses examined evidence involving more than 1.8 million people for the mortality analysis. Researchers found highly suggestive evidence linking higher grip strength with lower risks of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality and future disability.
Another systematic review specifically examining adults age 60 and older found that grip strength predicted declines in mobility, functional ability and cognition, as well as mortality.
And in a study of more than 17,000 older Americans, each 5-kg reduction in grip strength was associated with greater odds of difficulty performing everyday activities, including walking, bathing, dressing and eating. This may be one reason grip strength is increasingly described as a useful biomarker of aging.
What Counts as "Low" Grip Strength?
This question is more complicated than it first appears. Grip strength varies considerably according to age, sex, body size and population, so there isn't one ideal number everyone should strive to achieve. However, grip strength is already used clinically when evaluating sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle strength and muscle mass.
The European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2) identifies grip strength below 27 kg (about 60 lb) for men and 16 kg (about 35 lb) for women as low muscle strength when screening for sarcopenia. Those numbers should not be interpreted as fitness goals. Crossing the threshold doesn't suddenly make someone "healthy," nor does falling below it provide a diagnosis by itself. They are clinical screening values designed to identify people who may benefit from further evaluation. That's an important difference.
Why Does Strength Matter So Much As We Get Older?
Muscle isn't just something that makes us look fit. It is part of our body's functional reserve. Think of it as having money in a physical retirement account. Suppose two 75-year-olds become ill and spend several days in the hospital. Both may lose strength during the illness and recovery. The person who was stronger before the illness has more reserve to lose before everyday tasks become difficult. The person who was already close to the threshold of weakness has much less room for decline. That's why maintaining strength becomes increasingly important with age.
We want enough physical capacity that an illness, injury or period of inactivity doesn't immediately push us below the level necessary for independent living. Resistance training research strongly supports this approach. A recent American College of Sports Medicine review synthesizing 137 systematic reviews involving more than 30,000 participants concluded that progressive resistance training improves strength, muscle size, power, gait speed, balance and other measures of physical function.
Don't Make This Mistake: Grip Strength Isn't the Goal
This may be the most important point in this article. After reading about grip strength and longevity, it's tempting to think: "I need to strengthen my hands." That's not quite the message. As the experts interviewed by The Wall Street Journal emphasized, increasing grip strength in isolation has not been shown to increase longevity.
Think of grip strength more like the warning light on your car's dashboard.
The light gives you information about what's happening elsewhere. Polishing the warning light doesn't fix the engine. Similarly, spending all day squeezing a tennis ball might strengthen your hands, but it isn't a substitute for strengthening your legs, hips, back, chest, shoulders and core.
The better goal is whole-body strength.
Exercises That Build Grip and Whole-Body Strength
Several exercises are particularly useful because they require your hands to hold resistance while larger muscle groups are working.
Farmer carries: Hold a dumbbell in each hand and walk while maintaining tall posture. This challenges grip, legs, core and postural muscles simultaneously.
Suitcase carries: Carry one dumbbell at your side. In addition to challenging grip strength, your core must resist the tendency to lean toward the weight.
Rows: Dumbbell rows and resistance-band rows train the back and arms while requiring sustained grip.
Deadlifts or hip hinges: These strengthen some of the body's largest muscle groups while requiring you to hold the resistance.
Don’t overlook daily life. Carrying grocery bags, gardening and safely lifting and carrying objects all require grip strength.
Strengthen your whole body. Build your reserve. Give your future self more strength to work with.
References and Further Reading
Leong DP, et al. Prognostic value of grip strength: findings from the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. The Lancet. 2015;386(9990):266-273. The study included 139,691 participants with known vital status and found significant associations between lower grip strength and mortality and cardiovascular outcomes.
Soysal P, et al. Handgrip strength and health outcomes: umbrella review of systematic reviews with meta-analyses of observational studies. Journal of Sport and Health Science. 2021;10(3):290-295.
Rijk JM, et al. Prognostic value of handgrip strength in people aged 60 years and older: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Geriatrics & Gerontology International. 2016;16(1):5-20.
Bohannon RW. Grip strength: an indispensable biomarker for older adults. Clinical Interventions in Aging. 2019;14:1681-1691.
Peterson MD, et al. Grip strength is inversely associated with DNA methylation age acceleration. Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle. 2023;14(1):108-115.
Cruz-Jentoft AJ, et al. Sarcopenia: revised European consensus on definition and diagnosis. Age and Ageing. 2019;48(1):16-31.
Fragala MS, et al. Resistance training for older adults: position statement from the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2019;33(8):2019-2052.
American College of Sports Medicine. Resistance Training Prescription for Muscle Function, Hypertrophy, and Physical Performance in Healthy Adults: An Overview of Reviews. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2026.
Articles that inspired this discussion
Sumathi Reddy. “What Grip Strength Can Tell You About Your Health.” The Wall Street Journal, October 1, 2026.
This article is for educational purposes and is not intended to replace individualized medical advice or assessment.