Research

Mixed

Protein or amino acid supplementation combined with resistance exercise training in older adults produces a positive but minor effect on whole-body lean mass growth, while having minimal and inconsistent effects on muscle mass, strength, or functional capacity.

If you are an older adult doing resistance training, adding protein or amino acid supplements will likely help you gain a small amount of lean body mass (roughly 0.2-0.8 kg more than exercise alone). However, do not expect significant increases in strength, muscle size, or physical function from the supplement alone; the exercise is doing the heavy lifting. This benefit is most noticeable in frail or sarcopenic individuals, whereas those who are obese may see little to no benefit.

GoodQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
PRO/AA supplements (when combined with resistance exercise training) produced a positive, albeit minor effect on the promotion of whole-body lean mass growth, yet a minimal and inconsistent effect on muscle mass, muscle strength, or functional capacity.
Abbas Doctor et al. · Nutrition and Healthy Aging · 2022

Why this rating

Based on the analysis of 13 meta-analyses of RCTs, though heterogeneity in study selection reduces certainty.

Source

Role of ingested amino acids/protein in the promotion of resistance exercise-training adaptations in aging: analysis of meta-analyses

Abbas Doctor et al. · Nutrition and Healthy Aging · 2022

DOI 10.3233/nha-220183

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

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