Research

Hormonal

Older adults require higher per-meal protein doses (0.40 g/kg) compared to younger adults (0.24 g/kg) to achieve maximal muscle protein synthesis due to anabolic resistance.

If you are over 60, you likely need more protein per meal than you think to build or keep muscle. Aim for about 0.4 grams of high-quality protein per kilogram of your body weight at each main meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner). This is roughly double the amount needed by a 20-year-old to trigger the same muscle-building response. Combine this with resistance exercise for best results.

GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
biphasic linear regression and breakpoint analysis revealed the slope of first-line segment was lower in older men and that MPS reached a plateau after ingestion of 0.40(SEM 0.19) g/kg per meal ... and 0.24(SEM 0.06) g/kg per meal ... in older and younger men, respectively. These data suggest that older adults may require almost 2 × the per meal dose of protein to achieve a comparable MPS response to their younger counterparts
Paul T. Morgan et al. · Proceedings of The Nutrition Society · 2023

Why this rating

Based on a meta-analysis of multiple laboratory datasets using rigorous breakpoint analysis, though biological variability (overlapping CIs) exists.

Source

Dietary protein recommendations to support healthy muscle ageing in the 21st century and beyond: considerations and future directions

Paul T. Morgan et al. · Proceedings of The Nutrition Society · 2023

DOI 10.1017/s0029665123003750

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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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