More muscle mass can protect against insulin resistance and prediabetes.

In a cross-sectional study, every 10% increase in the ratio of skeletal muscle mass to total body weight was associated with an 11% reduction in risk of insulin resistance and a 12% drop in risk of transitional, prediabetes, or overt diabetes.  Over 13,000 people were studied via an analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III data. The findings point to the importance of gauging muscle mass, in addition to body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, when assessing a patient's metabolic health, the researchers said.