Journal of Obesity & Metabolic Syndrome

Search

Article

Korean J Obes 2013; 22(2): 77-82

Published online June 30, 2013

Copyright © Korean Society for the Study of Obesity.

Increased Dietary Intake of Proteins for the Prevention and Treatment of Sarcopenic
Obesity in the Elderly

Jin Kyung Cho, Hyun-Sik Kang, Jin Hwan Yoon(1)*

School of Sports Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Department of Sports Science, Hannam University(1)

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Population aging is occurring worldwide due to increased longevity, declining fertility, and the aging of “baby boom”generations. The aging process involves numerous changes in body composition that affect health among which sarcopenic obesity is of clinical and functional significance. Aging-related sarcopenic obesity is closely related to lifestyle factors, including physical inactivity and inadequate dietary intake of proteins. Considerable evidence suggests that sarcopenia is a reversible cause of disability and could benefit from a lifestyle intervention. Thus, increasing protein intake (ranging 0.8 g/kg/day to 1.6 g/kg/day) in elderly population, especially among frail elderly population, is currently recommended to minimize declines in muscle mass and strength. Further, increased dietary intake of proteins combined with resistance exercise is widely accepted as the most effective intervention to slow the sarcopenic process of aging.

Keywords: Sarcopenic obesity, Aging, Nutrition, Protein,
Muscle mass

Fig. 1. Influence of protein intake and resistance exercise (positive effects) and abdominal obesity, age-related atrophy, and sedentary lifestyle (negative effects) on muscle mass and strength.

Dietary protein recommendations and the prevention of sarcopenia


  1. Statistics Korea. Population Projections (2001-2050) and various population-related indicators (birth rate, death rate and life expectancy) on the basis of the results from the 2005 Population Census. [accessed 2013 April 19]. http://www.index.go.kr/egams/stts/jsp/potal/stts/PO_STTS_IdxMain.jsp?idx_cd=1009&bbs=INDX_001 2006
  2. Stenholm S, Harris TB, Rantanen T, Visser M, Kritchevsky SB, Ferrucci L. Sarcopenic obesity:definition, cause and consequences. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care 2008;11(6):693-700.
    Pubmed KoreaMed CrossRef
  3. Loenneke JP, Pujol TJ. Sarcopenia: An emphasis on occlusion training and dietary protein. Hippokratia 2011;15:132-7.
    Pubmed KoreaMed
  4. Chapman IM, MacIntosh CG, Morley JE, Horowitz M. The anorexia of ageing. Biogerontology 2002;3:67-71.
    Pubmed CrossRef
  5. Waters DL, Baumgartner RN, Garry PJ, Vellas B. Advantages of dietary, exercise-related, therapeutic interventions to prevent and treat sarcopenia in adult patients: an update. Clin Interv Aging 2010;7:259-70.
    CrossRef
  6. Buford TW, Anton SD, Judge AR, Marzetti E, Wohlgemuth SE, Carter CS, et al. Models of accelerated sarcopenia: critical pieces for solving the puzzle of age-related muscle atrophy. Ageing Res Rev 2010;9:369-83.
    Pubmed KoreaMed CrossRef
  7. Burton LA, Sumukadas D. Optimal management of sarcopenia. Clin Interv Aging 2010;7:217-28.
  8. Kim JS, Wilson JM, Lee SR. Dietary implications on mechanisms of sarcopenia: roles of protein, amino acids and antioxidants. J Nutr Biochem 2010;21:1-13.
    Pubmed CrossRef
  9. Thalacker-Mercer AE, Fleet JC, Craig BA, Carnell NS, Campbell WW. Inadequate protein intake affects skeletal muscle transcript profiles in older humans. Am J Clin Nutr 2007;85:1344-52.
    Pubmed KoreaMed
  10. Breen L, Phillips SM. Skeletal muscle protein metabolism in the elderly: Interventions to counteract the ‘anabolic resistance' of ageing. Nutr Metab (Lond) 2011;8:68.
    Pubmed KoreaMed CrossRef
  11. Katsanos CS, Kobayashi H, Sheffield-Moore M, Aarsland A, Wolfe RR. Aging is associated with diminished accretion of muscle proteins after the ingestion of a small bolus of essential amino acids. Am J Clin Nutr 2005;82:1065-73.
    Pubmed
  12. Symons TB, Schutzler SE, Cocke TL, Chinkes DL, Wolfe RR, Paddon-Jones D. Aging does not impair the anabolic response to a protein-rich meal. Am J Clin Nutr 2007;86:451-6.
    Pubmed
  13. Mathus-Vliegen EM; Obesity Management Task Force of the European Association for the Study of Obesity. Prevalence, pathophysiology, health consequences and treatment options of obesity in the elderly: a guideline. Obes Facts 2012;5:460-83.
    Pubmed CrossRef
  14. Li Z, Heber D. Sarcopenic obesity in the elderly and strategies for weight management. Nutr Rev 2012;70:57-64.
    Pubmed CrossRef
  15. Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board. Dietary reference intakes for energy, carbohydrate, fiber, fat, fatty acids, cholesterol, protein, amino acids. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2002 and 2005.
  16. Paddon-Jones D, Rasmussen BB. Dietary protein recommendations and the prevention of sarcopenia. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care 2009;12:86-90.
    Pubmed KoreaMed CrossRef
  17. Evans WJ. Protein nutrition, exercise and aging. J Am Coll Nutr 2004;23:601S-9S.
    Pubmed CrossRef
  18. Piatti PM, Monti F, Fermo I, Baruffaldi L, Nasser R, Santambrogio G, et al. Hypocaloric high-protein diet improves glucose oxidation and spares lean body mass: comparison to hypocaloric high-carbohydrate diet. Metabolism 1994;43:1481-7.
    CrossRef
  19. Skov AR, Toubro S, Rønn B, Holm L, Astrup A. Randomized trial on protein vs carbohydrate in ad libitum fat reduced diet for the treatment of obesity. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1999;23:528-36.
    Pubmed CrossRef
  20. Parker B, Noakes M, Luscombe N, Clifton P. Effect of a high-protein, high-monounsaturated fat weight loss diet on glycemic control and lipid levels in type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 2002;25:425-30.
    Pubmed CrossRef
  21. Farnsworth E, Luscombe ND, Noakes M, Wittert G, Argyiou E, Clifton PM. Effect of a high-protein, energy-restricted diet on body composition, glycemic control, lipid concentrations in overweight and obese hyperinsulinemic men and women. Am J Clin Nutr 2003;78:31-9.
    Pubmed
  22. Volpi E, Kobayashi H, Sheffield-Moore M, Mittendorfer B, Wolfe RR. Essential amino acids are primarily responsible for the amino acid stimulation of muscle protein anabolism in healthy elderly adults. Am J Clin Nutr 2003;78:250-8.
    Pubmed KoreaMed
  23. Murphy C, Miller BF. Protein consumption following aerobic exercise increases whole-body protein turnover in older adults. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab 2010;35:583-90.
    Pubmed CrossRef
  24. Dreyer HC, Drummond MJ, Pennings B, Fujita S, Glynn EL, Chinkes DL, et al. Leucine-enriched essential amino acid and carbohydrate ingestion following resistance exercise enhances mTOR signaling and protein synthesis in human muscle. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 2008;294:E392-400.
    Pubmed KoreaMed CrossRef
  25. Fujita S, Dreyer HC, Drummond MJ, Glynn EL, Cadenas JG, Yoshizawa F, et al. Nutrient signalling in the regulation of human muscle protein synthesis. J Physiol 2007;582:813-23.
    Pubmed KoreaMed CrossRef
  26. Baptista IL, Leal ML, Artioli GG, Aoki MS, Fiamoncini J, Turri AO, et al. Leucine attenuates skeletal muscle wasting via inhibition of ubiquitin ligases. Muscle Nerve 2010;41:800-8.
    Pubmed CrossRef
  27. Herningtyas EH, Okimura Y, Handayaningsih AE, Yamamoto D, Maki T, Iida K, et al. Branched-chain amino acids and arginine suppress MaFbx/atrogin-1 mRNA expression via mTOR pathway in C2C12 cell line. Biochim Biophys Acta 2008;1780:1115-20.
    Pubmed CrossRef
  28. Katsanos CS, Kobayashi H, Sheffield-Moore M, Aarsland A, Wolfe RR. A high proportion of leucine is required for optimal stimulation of the rate of muscle protein synthesis by essential amino acids in the elderly. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 2006;291:E381-7.
    Pubmed CrossRef
  29. Flakoll P, Sharp R, Baier S, Levenhagen D, Carr C, Nissen S. Effect of beta-hydroxy-beta-methyl-butyrate, arginine, lysine supplementation on strength, functionality, body composition, protein metabolism in elderly women. Nutrition 2004;20:445-51.
    Pubmed CrossRef
  30. Layman DK, Walker DA. Potential importance of leucine in treatment of obesity and the metabolic syndrome. J Nutr 2006;136(Suppl 1):319-23.
  31. Ceglia L. Vitamin D and its role in skeletal muscle. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care 2009;12:628-33.
    Pubmed KoreaMed CrossRef
  32. Pfeifer M, Begerow B, Minne HW, Suppan K, Fahrleitner-Pammer A, Dobnig H. Effects of a long-term vitamin D and calcium supplementation on falls and parameters of muscle function in community-dwelling older individuals. Osteoporos Int 2009;20:315-22.
    Pubmed CrossRef