Research
Macro partitioning
Aging is associated with 'anabolic resistance,' where older adults require more protein to stimulate muscle protein synthesis (MPS) compared to younger adults, contributing to sarcopenia.
As you age, your muscles become less responsive to protein. To build or maintain muscle, you likely need 1.5 to 2 times more high-quality protein per meal than younger people do. Combine this with resistance exercise to overcome this 'anabolic resistance.'
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Typically, older compared with younger persons require >1.5–2-times the amount of high-quality protein to maximally stimulate MPS.
Why this rating
Based on multiple human trials cited in the review.
Source
Disuse-induced skeletal muscle atrophy in disease and nondisease states in humans: mechanisms, prevention, and recovery strategies
Everson Araújo Nunes et al. · American Journal of Physiology-Cell Physiology · 2022
DOI 10.1152/ajpcell.00425.2021
narrative_reviewCited 160×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- In healthy humans, disuse-induced muscle atrophy is primarily driven by a significant reduction in muscle protein synthesis (MPS), while muscle protein breakdown (MPB) remains largely unchanged.Good
- In disease states (e.g., sepsis, cancer, critical illness), muscle atrophy is driven by both elevated muscle protein breakdown (MPB) and reduced muscle protein synthesis (MPS), mediated by inflammatory cytokines.Good
Related findings · Macro partitioning
- Total daily protein intake of 1.6 g/kg/day is sufficient for maximizing resistance training-induced muscle gains, with an upper confidence interval of 2.2 g/kg/day.Strong
- Resistance exercise training combined with sufficient dietary protein intake acts synergistically to maximize skeletal muscle hypertrophy, with protein intake saturating around 1.6 g/kg/day for general populations and potentially requiring 2.0-2.2 g/kg/day for resistance-trained individuals.Strong
- Trans fats should be completely eliminated from the diet, as they increase LDL cholesterol, decrease HDL cholesterol, and are directly associated with increased coronary risk.Strong
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