More Protein = Less Muscle? New Study Data Released!
Channel: Lifespan News
Date: 2023-03-12

Researchers publishing in Age and Ageing have found that, rather than being protective, an increase in dietary protein is associated with an increased chance of sarcopenia.

Sarcopenia is a well-known disorder that occurs with aging. People with sarcopenia lack adequate muscular function, leading to frailty, a higher risk of falls, and a functional decline in daily living activities that leads to a decreased quality of life.

Previous research has found the phenomenon of anabolic resistance, where muscle protein is more difficult to synthesize for older adults. This led the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism to recommend that older adults consume 1 to 1.3 grams of protein per kg of desired body weight a day. 

This new study used data from the TwinsUK cohort, a registry of almost 15,000 identical and fraternal twins and triplets, and the researchers narrowed in on about 3,300 older adults that had detailed muscular data.

As is usual for this kind of study, there was a lot of murky causal data. Aging is, of course, the primary association, but education, body mass index, and income were all also found to have associations with muscle strength, muscle mass, and sarcopenia.

There was no significant association between muscle strength and protein intake one way or another, but protein intake below the ESPEN recommendation was significantly correlated with more muscle and less cases of sarcopenia. The data showed higher protein intake than ESPEN recommended was correlated with less muscle mass and more cases of sarcopenia.

The statistical relationship between protein intake and sarcopenia was even further confirmed when analyzed according to shared twin factors like genetics, early life history and a lot of other variables. 

One idea was that the causality might be reversed: that people who suffer from sarcopenia might be eating more protein to try and treat their condition. The researchers thought this was unlikely, because sarcopenia is seldom diagnosed. Another explanation could be that diets that are high in protein might also be high in inflammatory or other negative factors that promote sarcopenia, so it might be the type of protein that was causing the results instead of protein in general.

As suspect as these findings are, this study does throw doubt on the conventional wisdom surrounding protein and sarcopenia, and it might result in re-evaluations of dietary health guidelines. This is an association study that does not prove causation, but it makes it clear that simply eating more protein is not likely to protect anyone against developing sarcopenia.

So, what do you think? Will this study change how much protein you consume? Let us know in the comments. Make sure to subscribe and click the bell so you can stay up to date on aging research!

SOURCES AND FURTHER READING
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High Protein Intake Associated With Sarcopenia - https://www.lifespan.io/news/high-protein-intake-associated-with-sarcopenia/

Higher dietary protein intake is associated with sarcopenia in older British twins - https://academic.oup.com/ageing/article/52/2/afad018/7036280

Nutritional influences on age-related skeletal muscle loss - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24229650/

Anabolic Resistance of Muscle Protein Turnover Comes in Various Shapes and Sizes - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8131552/

Protein intake and exercise for optimal muscle function with aging: recommendations from the ESPEN Expert Group - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24814383/

Jeff Nippard’s The Smartest Way To Use Protein To Build Muscle (Science Explained) - https://youtu.be/Pok0Jg2JAkE

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