Nutrient-rich, high-quality, protein-containing dairy foods in combination with exercise in aging persons to mitigate sarcopenia.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review synthesizing mechanistic and observational literature without systematic review methodology
PubMed 30561677 · doi:10.1093/nutrit/nuy062
What was done
This narrative review synthesized physiological evidence on muscle protein turnover, acute muscle protein synthesis dose-response studies, observational dietary pattern research, and exercise interactions to formulate protein and dairy intake recommendations for older adults at risk of sarcopenia.
What was found
The authors report that protein requirements to mitigate sarcopenia exceed the standard recommendation of approximately 0.8 g/kg bodyweight/d. Based on acute muscle protein synthesis studies, they propose a per-meal target of approximately 0.4–0.6 g protein/kg bodyweight/meal for older adults. They also note that observational studies associate more even daily protein distribution patterns with increased muscle mass and improved muscle function compared to skewed distributions. No specific numerical effect sizes or study counts were provided in the abstract.
Why it matters
It translates acute muscle protein turnover data into specific per-meal dietary targets (0.4–0.6 g/kg/meal) using nutrient-dense dairy foods paired with exercise to address age-related muscle and functional loss.
Limits
As a narrative review, it lacks systematic search criteria, meta-analytic pooling, and risk-of-bias evaluation. The abstract provides no primary data, participant numbers, or quantitative effect sizes, and per-meal targets are extrapolated largely from acute metabolic dose-response studies and observational associations rather than dedicated long-term randomized outcome trials.
Cited by
- supports A study by Stuart Phillips of McMaster University found that high-protein, animal-sourced foods contain micronutrients that are commonly underconsumed in their most bioavailable form.