Doctor urges all slim people over 30 to practise health hack that wards off heart attack
Everyone aged 30 should take up weight lifting to ward off deadly heart disease — even if they're slim and fit, a doctor has urged.
In a viral clip, viewed over 250,000 times, US-based anesthesiologist Dr Myro Figura explained that the risk of developing cardiovascular problems rises significantly at this age.
This is because muscle mass begins to decline aged 30, which is known to make the body less responsive to insulin — the hormone that converts sugars in food into energy.
An impaired insulin response can lead to type 2 diabetes, which increases the risk of a heart attack or stroke four-fold, according to some studies.
But Dr Figura said exercises that build muscle increase the body's sensitivity to insulin—warding off the condition.
'Exercise can reverse pre diabetes and even early stages of diabetes,' he said.
In the YouTube Short, Dr Figura gave the example of a woman who was recently diagnosed as pre-diabetic despite being 'in decent shape.'
He shared a video in which the woman posed for the camera and said: 'I'm pretty thin, see this?'
'It doesn't matter what your body shape looks like as when you are older than 30, your body is going to have a hard time processing sugar if you don't have muscle mass.'
Prediabetes, which means having higher-than-normal blood sugar levels that aren't yet classified as full blow diabetes, affects around one in 10 adults in the UK.
Dr Figura explained that a lack of muscle mass is a 'huge problem' when it comes to diabetes risk for those over the age of 30.
Muscle is 'responsible for 80 per cent of metabolism of glucose [sugar in the blood],' he said.
Research shows both pre-diabetes and diabetes can increase the risk of suffering a heart attack.
A 2021 study by American researchers of 25,000 participants, half of who had a prediabetes diagnosis, found 18 per cent suffered serious 'cardiovascular events' – such as a heart attack.
In contrast, only 14 per cent in the group with normal blood sugar levels had a similar medical emergency.
Experts have also found that exercise can prevent the long-term health risks associated with diabetes.
A 2024 study by Chinese researchers found a healthy diet and exercise can slash the risk of death by 26 per cent in prediabetics.
The study of 500 people followed participants for 30 years.
Analyses revealed those who remained non-diabetic for at least four years after their initial prediabetes diagnosis had a 26 per cent lower risk of dying.
They were also 37 per cent less likely to having a heart attack or stroke compared to those who developed diabetes sooner.
Charity Diabetes UK estimates that 5.8 million people in the UK are living with diabetes, 90 per cent have type 2.
Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body doesn't make enough insulin or the insulin it makes doesn't work properly.
It differs from type 1 which is where the body cannot make insulin at all due to the immune system mistakenly attacking and destroying cells that produce the hormone.
Having high blood sugar levels over time can cause heart attacks and strokes, as well as problems with the eyes, kidneys and feet.
Sufferers may need to overhaul their diet, take daily medication and have regular check-ups.
Symptoms of the condition, which is diagnosed with a blood test, include excessive thirst, tiredness and needing to urinate more often. But many people have no signs.
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