Dietary protein is inversely associated with sarcopenia, sarcopenic‐obesity, and impaired gait speed in US adults: NHANES 1999–2002

Abstract

As the American population begins to age, nutritional interventions that mitigate the associated losses in lean body mass and physical function will become increasingly important. The NHANES 1999–2002 database was utilized to determine if protein intake was associated with the risk of sarcopenia, sarcopenic‐obesity, and impaired gait speed in adults 50+ y (n=4,010) with reliable 24‐hr dietary recall data, dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry measures, and that completed a timed 20‐ft walk test. Covariate‐adjusted logistic regression was used to determine odds of excess body fat percentage (% BF; gender‐specific 75th percentile), sarcopenia (gender‐specific 25th percentile of appendicular lean mass index [ALMI] in kg/m2), sarcopenic‐obesity, and impaired gait speed (<0.8 m/s) by quartiles of total daily protein consumption. Mean values for % BF, ALMI, and gait speed were: 36.5±0.2%; 7.3±0.0 kg/m2, and 1.03±0.01 m/s. Mean daily protein intake by quartiles were: 35.3±0.4 g (0.49±0.01 g/kg); 58.8±0.2 g (0.80±0.01 g/kg); 79.1±0.2 g (1.03±0.01 g/kg); and 121.8±1.2 g (1.47±0.02 g/kg), respectively. Compared to the lowest quartile, subjects in the highest quartile had significantly reduced odds of excess body fat (OR=0.67; 95% CI:0.48–0.93), sarcopenia (OR=0.65; 95% CI:0.43–0.99), sarcopenic‐obesity (OR=0.28; 95% CI:0.13–0.63), and impaired gait speed (OR=0.49; 95% CI:0.33–0.73). Results suggest a beneficial role of dietary protein in reduced risk of sarcopenia, excess % BF, and impaired gait speed in older adults.Grant Funding Source: Dairy Research Institute and USDA