Progress on the Health Effects of Protein Hinges on a Lifespan Focus

Washington D.C. – There is “mounting evidence documenting the effects of dietary protein on measures of chronic disease and age-related decline…” according to a group of experts.

These nutrition experts explain that tremendous gains have been made in the understanding of dietary protein and muscle over the last three decades, but that future studies on optimizing overall health across the lifespan would boost progress. Instead of focusing on the minimal amount of protein to build and maintain muscle, there is an opportunity to define protein intake by amounts and types that optimize health more broadly across the lifespan.

Future protein research priorities include addressing gaps in knowledge on cardiometabolic health, frailty, bone growth and maintenance, and weight management, according to a new paper.

The article “Exploring Opportunities to Better Characterize the Effects of Dietary Protein on Health across the Lifespan,” appears in a recent issue of the peer-reviewed journal Advances in Nutrition. The research was supported by IAFNS Protein Committee.

The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram body weight per day. The authors encourage research on how establishing optimal, rather than minimal, protein intakes may affect a variety of health outcomes and their measurement.

The experts provide insights on scientifically meaningful health outcomes and credible biomarkers that can be used to determine whether and how increasing dietary protein above the RDA (or altering the source of protein consumed) may support health across the lifespan.

For example, much remains to be learned about how dietary protein or specific protein components influence blood pressure and plasma lipid concentrations. Measuring the impact of the protein component compared with the overall food matrix will be important to identify future dietary interventions. In addition, more rigorous outcomes measures will be valuable for increasing the utility of research.

Additionally, aging is associated with declines in muscle mass, strength, and physical function, collectively known as sarcopenia. A fundamental question in maintaining health across the lifespan is the degree to which these declines are intractable or subject to mitigation through diet and physical activity. What’s more, the relationship of protein to sleep, satiety and metabolic rate also deserves research attention.

According to the article, “As the field shifts emphasis to elucidating the role of dietary protein in supporting and sustaining human health throughout the lifespan, past research accomplishments provide a foundation for innovative thinking and an approach for the continued creation of an evidence base to best support future public health policy guidance.”

According to author John Carbone with the School of Health Sciences at Eastern Michigan University, “The advances the field has made over the last few decades in understanding how dietary protein affects muscle health have been remarkable. With this paper, we make the case for building off of these past accomplishments and encourage investigations of protein’s role in modulating important outcomes that affect health across the lifespan. We begin by emphasizing cardiometabolic health, frailty prevention, bone health, and weight management, but believe this is just the beginning of expanding our understanding of how protein intake can be optimized to benefit quality of life for all.”

The paper is available here.

About Eastern Michigan University:

Founded in 1849, EMU is the second oldest public university in Michigan. It currently serves nearly 13,000 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate, specialist, doctoral and certificate degrees in the arts, sciences and professions. In all, more than 300 majors, minors and concentrations are delivered through the University’s Colleges of Arts and Sciences; Business; Education; Engineering and Technology; Health and Human Services; and its graduate school.

About IAFNS:

The Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences (IAFNS) is committed to leading positive change across the food and beverage ecosystem. This paper was supported by IAFNS Protein Committee. IAFNS is a 501(c)(3) science-focused nonprofit uniquely positioned to mobilize government, industry and academia to drive, fund and lead actionable research. iafns.org