Strong Is The New Thin

Updated: June 2, 2026

Dr Estima

According to Dr. Stephanie Estima, the women who age best are not the thinnest, but the strongest.

For many years, women were taught that skinny meant healthy. And for a while, many women believed that was the goal…

Eat less. Burn more. Stay small.

But according to women’s health expert Dr. Stephanie Estima, the female body is not a simple equation of calories in and calories out, especially after 40.

In this eye-opening interview, Dr. Estima explains why the scale may be one of the worst ways to measure health in midlife… and why muscle, not thinness, is the greatest predictor of how well a woman ages.

In this must-watch conversation:

  • Many women don’t realize their “healthy” routine is actually making them weaker. And why it’s especially dangerous for women over 40!
  • Why the scale is the worst possible “scoreboard” for women over 40. And the 5 metrics Dr. Estima says matter far more.
  • Why dieting suddenly seems to stop working after 40… even for women doing everything “right.” Dr. Estima explains what’s really happening inside the female body.
  • The type of exercise women over 40 should NEVER do, and what you should do instead.
  • The frightening thing that happens when women lose “force absorption capacity”… and why it dramatically increases the danger of falls and injuries later in life.
  • The hidden cost of trying to stay small. This part of the interview hits a nerve with almost every woman over 40.
  • Why Dr. Estima says “strong women don’t eat like birds”… and the exact protein strategy she recommends to support muscle, strength, and healthy aging.
  • And much more…

For years, women were told that aging well meant staying thin. But according to Dr. Estima, the women who age best are not the thinnest. They are the strongest. Watch the full interview now to discover why strength, not thinness, may be the real key to aging well after 40.

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This article features advice based on cutting-edge research from our industry experts to give you the best possible information to support your bone-building journey.

Lara Pizzorno
MDiv, MA, LMT - Best-selling author of Healthy Bones Healthy You! and Your Bones; Editor of Longevity Medicine Review, and Senior Medical Editor for Integrative Medicine Advisors.,
Dr. Liz Lipski
PhD, CNS, FACN, IFMP, BCHN, LDN - Professor and Director of Academic Development, Nutrition programs in Clinical Nutrition at Maryland University of Integrative Health.,
Dr. Emma Gasinski
PT, DPT, RYT - Physical therapist and certified yoga teacher with a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professionals,
Dr. Lawrence (Larry) A. May
MD, FACP, Harvard Medical School Graduate, Physician, Author, Public Speaker - Doctor of Internal Medicine at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center and author of several articles and books, including the widely utilized and best selling medical textbook Primary Care Medicine,