Hormonal
Older women (65-80 years) exhibit a ~30% greater basal muscle protein synthesis (MPS) rate than older men, which likely contributes to slower age-related muscle loss in women.
For older adults, maintaining muscle mass is not just about exercise; biological sex plays a role. Older women naturally have a higher baseline rate of muscle building (MPS) than older men, which helps them lose muscle more slowly. This suggests that nutritional strategies for older men might need to be more aggressive in stimulating MPS to match the natural baseline advantage women have.
We discovered that... the basal rate of MPS was ~30% greater (P = 0.02) in women than in men... a greater basal rate of MPS, operating over most of the day may partially explain the slower loss of muscle in older women.
Why this rating
Randomized controlled study with stable isotope tracers in a specific demographic (older adults), though small sample size (n=29).
Source
Differences in Muscle Protein Synthesis and Anabolic Signaling in the Postabsorptive State and in Response to Food in 65–80 Year Old Men and Women
Gordon I. Smith et al. · PLoS ONE · 2008
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0001875
More from this paper
- Older women exhibit anabolic resistance to feeding, where muscle protein synthesis (MPS) does not increase in response to a protein-containing meal, unlike older men who show a significant increase.Good
- The mechanism for higher basal MPS in older women involves lower phosphorylation of eEF2Thr56, which deactivates the inhibition of protein elongation.Good
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