Can bigger muscles really help burn fat and keep you young? | Dr. Vonda Wright

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
Welcome to ZOE Science and Nutrition, where world leading scientists explain how their research can improve your health.
Time and again, surveys show us that the number one health goal for most people is to lose weight. Consistently outranks improving sleep, boosting mental health, and even quitting smoking. For many, the number that flashes up on the bathroom scale has become the only thing that matters. But is focusing solely on weight a mistake? Where did this obsession begin? Was it with companies selling scales? Or with diet plans? Plans that told you you were succeeding even if you felt terrible? That pushing you to ignore the signals from your own body and focus only on one external measure of health? So is it time we stop asking, how much do I weigh? And start asking, what is my weight made of? In other words, body composition. Today, I'm joined by Dr. Vonda Wright, a double board certified orthopedic surgeon with more than 20 years of clinical and research experience. Her bestselling books encourage us to rethink our bodies and offer powerful tools for thriving as we age. Vonda, thank you so much for joining me today.

**Vonda Wright** (1:21)
It's my pleasure. Thank you.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:23)
So we have this tradition on the show with questions from our listeners in the format of rapid fire Q&A. We have a very strict rule.

**Vonda Wright** (1:31)
Okay.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:31)
You can say yes or no, or if you have to, a one sentence answer.

**Vonda Wright** (1:36)
Okay. I am verbose, so that might be hard for me.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:40)
But I know that you're double board certified, so also you like to succeed, so I can see you're like, I'm going to do it. All right. Is the scale the right way to judge if you're losing fat?

**Vonda Wright** (1:52)
No.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:53)
Can bigger muscles help prevent fat gain even when you're not exercising?

**Vonda Wright** (1:58)
Yes.

**SPEAKER_1** (2:00)
Will strength training in midlife increase your risk of injuries?

**Vonda Wright** (2:04)
No, if done properly.

**SPEAKER_1** (2:06)
Can you reverse the age of your muscle cells?

**Vonda Wright** (2:09)
Ah, I believe yes.

**SPEAKER_1** (2:12)
And finally, what is the most common misconception about muscles?

**Vonda Wright** (2:17)
That by working to gain muscle, you're going to become huge and bulky like a bodybuilder.

**SPEAKER_1** (2:24)
And you won't?

**Vonda Wright** (2:25)
Only if you intentionally lift in that hypertrophic manner for decades.

**SPEAKER_1** (2:31)
So as many listeners to the show who listen regularly will know, I've actually sort of been on a 10-year journey to build some muscle. Okay. Starting from a very low base. So I've been working out with a personal trainer, and over time, very slowly, I've increased the amount of weight I can lift. And that's sort of all been in the name of feeling better today, but also staying healthy for many more years in the future. However, I was really surprised to learn from the podcast research team who were looking into your research that this increased muscle that I have isn't just making me stronger, but it could actually be helping to keep unwanted fat off my body. And I'm very excited to get into this, but I'd like to start right at the beginning. What are muscles and what they're for? Because I was brought up understanding that muscles were very simple. They're like springs that you use to lift things. Is this right?

**Vonda Wright** (3:24)
All tissues in the musculoskeletal system, muscle, bone, fat, muscle-derived stem cells, or as we call them now, satellite cells, even the discs in our back, the annulus, and the squishy part, the pulposus, ligaments, tendons, are all derived from a common stem cell called the mesenchymal stem cell. And here's why that's important. We tend to think as our muscles, our tendons, our ligaments, our bones, as just different organ systems. But the reality is, they are all cousins. They are all speaking the same language. They are not just static structures doing one job. They are metabolically active, particularly fat, muscle, bone. They are endocrine organs, meaning they secrete hormones of their own, which talk to each other and talk to other parts in our body. So, when you ask me a question of is muscle just the bicep, you know, the cool thing we see in the mirror, the cosmetic things, the reality is, in my opinion, that's one of the least things they do. Because, yes, they loco-mote us, but muscle as bone are endocrine organs, critically important in glucose metabolism. They secrete hormones which talk to the brain, which talk to the fat, which talk to the bone. And so, the very least of how we look at our muscle in a gym mirror is a fraction of what it's capable of, and the same about bone.