Daily Protein and Energy Intake Are Not Associated with Muscle Mass and Physical Function in Healthy Older Individuals-A Cross-Sectional Study.

Grith Højfeldt,Tenna Jensen,Mikkel Jensen,Astrid Pernille Jespersen,Soren Reitelseder,Inge Tetens,Yusuke Nishimura,Kenneth Mertz,Mads Vendelbo Lind,Morten Hjulmand,Lars Holm,Simon R Schacht,Jonas Lindberg

doi:10.3390/nu12092794

Grith Højfeldt, Tenna Jensen + Show 11 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12092794

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Abstract

Dietary protein has a pivotal role in muscle mass maintenance with advancing age. However, an optimal dose and distribution of protein intake across the day as well as the interaction with energy intake for the maintenance of muscle mass and physical function in healthy older adults remain to be fully elucidated. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between muscle mass, strength, and physical function, and the total amount and distribution of protein and energy intake across the day in healthy older individuals. The research question was addressed in a cross-sectional study including 184 Danish men and woman (age: 70.2 ± 3.9 years, body mass: 74.9 ± 12.1 kg, Body Mass Index (BMI): 25.4 ± 3.7 kg/m2) where a 3-day dietary registration, muscle mass, strength, and functional measurements were collected. We found that neither daily total protein intake nor distribution throughout the day were associated with muscle mass, strength, or physical function. Consequently, we do not provide an incentive for healthy older Danish individuals who already adhere to the current internationally accepted recommended dietary protein intake (0.83 g/kg/day) to change dietary protein intake or its distribution pattern throughout the day.

Highlights

Dietary protein continues to receive attention in an effort to combat sarcopenia [1,2,3,4,5]
Individuals with a protein intake that does not fit in the category ‘lower’ or ‘higher’ (i.e., ≥0.83–
Within groups of men and women, there was no difference between groups with higher and lower protein intakes with regards to body weight, adjusted body weight, lean body mass (LBM), appendicular LBM and step counts

Summary

Introduction

Dietary protein continues to receive attention in an effort to combat sarcopenia [1,2,3,4,5]. The most recent recommendation from the Nordic Council of Ministers is 1.1–1.3 g protein/kg Body Weight (BW)/day (15–20 energy %) for older adults above the age of 65 years [6]. The recommended value was based on nitrogen balance methodology that, with currently available data, neither distinguishes age nor accounts for factors such as sex and meal distribution patterns across the day. While some studies report similar protein requirements in healthy younger and older adults using the nitrogen balance methodology [10,11], a growing number of epidemiological studies assessing the associations between protein intake and muscle mass suggest that muscle mass and/or function in older individuals can be maintained with protein intake levels matching the recommendation made by the Nordic Council of Ministers [12,13,14,15,16]

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