Effects of whey protein supplement in the elderly submitted to resistance training: systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Aim: We performed a systematic review to map the evidence and analyze the effect of whey protein supplementation in the elderly submitted to resistance training.Methods: A comprehensive search on Medline, LILACS, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library for relevant publications was conducted until August 2015. The terms used in the search were: “Resistance training”; “Whey protein”; “Elderly”.Results: A total of 632 studies were screened. Five studies were included composing a sample of 391 patients. The supplement whey protein was associated with higher total protein ingestion 9.40 (95% CI: 4.03–14.78), and with an average change in plasma leucine concentration. The supplementation was also associated with increased mixed muscle protein synthesis 1.26 (95% CI: 0.46–2.07) compared to the control group.Conclusion: We observed an increase in total protein intake, resulting in increased concentration of leucine and mixed muscle protein fractional synthesis rate.