Industry story
Extra Protein Alone Won't Build Muscle in Older Adults
aging basic-science diet-nutrition
If you're already eating enough protein, the extra scoop of whey won't move the needle. Roger Fielding's lab at Tufts ran 80 older adults through six months of resistance training, gave half of them 40 grams of whey protein daily and the other half a placebo, and both groups got stronger and built muscle at exactly the same rate. The lever that actually works is consistent exercise: aerobic activity plus one or two days a week of resistance training hitting the major muscle groups. The one protein caveat worth keeping is this: about a quarter of people aren't hitting the baseline 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight per day, and closing that gap does matter for holding onto muscle.
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Roger Fielding, a nutrition and muscle researcher at Tufts University's Friedman School, ran the study the protein supplement industry would rather you not read. Eighty older adults did six months of resistance training; half got a daily shake with 40 grams of high-quality whey protein, half got a placebo. Both groups got stronger and gained muscle at exactly the same rate. The extra protein did nothing.
That finding comes with one real caveat. About a quarter of older adults don't hit even the baseline recommendation of 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. If you're below that floor, closing the gap matters for holding on to muscle. Above it, adding more protein is not the lever.
The lever is movement. Fielding says the most effective strategy is regular aerobic activity plus one or two days of resistance training each week, working major muscle groups with free weights, machines, bands, or body-weight exercises. If you're actively losing weight, slightly more protein can help limit muscle loss alongside that training, but loading up on red and processed meat to get there trades one problem for another.
If you do want a protein supplement, Fielding recommends plain, minimally processed products. The heavily sweetened bars and shakes he describes, essentially, as junk food.
Roger Fielding, a nutrition and muscle researcher at Tufts University's Friedman School, says that for most older adults, eating more protein than the body requires will not by itself increase muscle mass. His lab enrolled 80 older adults in six months of resistance training, giving half a daily shake with 40 grams of high-quality whey protein and half a placebo — both groups got stronger and gained muscle at the same rate, with no added benefit from the extra protein. That said, roughly a quarter of older adults fall short of even the minimum recommended intake of 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day (about 0.36 grams per pound), and closing that gap does matter for preserving muscle.
Fielding says the single most effective strategy for building and keeping muscle at any age is regular aerobic activity combined with one or two days of resistance training each week, targeting major muscle groups using free weights, machines, bands, or body-weight exercises like squats and push-ups. People losing weight may benefit from protein slightly above the minimum to limit muscle loss, especially if they are also exercising — but adding red and processed meat to hit that target carries its own health risks. For supplemental protein, he recommends plain, minimally processed products over heavily sweetened protein bars and shakes, which he describes as essentially junk food.
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