Muscle Mass and Hydration

I read this blog post the other day from Peter Attia. It caught my attention because it was about how dehydration affects you as you age. It’s a nice primer on dehydration, and how it can impact your body and how it performs.

There was a  really interesting take a from it that I didn’t expect. It’s another point for the column of having more muscle, especially as you age. Older individual’s response to dehydration can become more severe due to their lack of muscle mass.

From the article:

“Lean mass typically decreases while fat mass increases, and because muscle cells contain far more water than fat cells, this transition results in a substantial reduction of total body water. With less total body water, the effects of any deviation from optimal fluid balance are magnified, such that even mild water deprivation can cause clinically significant dehydration.”

There’s obvious benefits from having more strength as you age. I had never considered how having more muscle mass could affect dehydration though. It’s a good reminder to keep lifting weights and drinking water!

Justin Miner

@justinminergain