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Review
. 2016 Mar;74(3):210-24.
doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nuv065. Epub 2016 Feb 16.

Effects of dietary protein intake on body composition changes after weight loss in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Jung Eun Kim  1 , Lauren E O'Connor  1 , Laura P Sands  1 , Mary B Slebodnik  1 , Wayne W Campbell  2
Affiliations
Review

Effects of dietary protein intake on body composition changes after weight loss in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Jung Eun Kim et al. Nutr Rev. 2016 Mar.

Abstract

Context: The impact of dietary protein on body composition changes after older adults purposefully lose weight requires systematic evaluation

Objective: : This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the effects of protein intake (< 25% vs ≥ 25% of energy intake or 1.0 g/kg/d) on energy restriction-induced changes in body mass, lean mass, and fat mass in adults older than 50 years.

Data sources: PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched using the keywords "dietary proteins," "body composition," "skeletal muscle," and "muscle strength."

Study selection: Two researchers independently screened 1542 abstracts.

Data extraction: Information was extracted from 24 articles.

Data synthesis: Twenty randomized control trials met the inclusion criteria.

Conclusion: Older adults retained more lean mass and lost more fat mass during weight loss when consuming higher protein diets.

Keywords: aging; body composition; obesity; protein.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow chart of literature selection process.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Changes in body mass (A and C), percent body mass (B and D), fat mass (E and G), percent fat mass (F and H), lean mass (I and K), percent lean mass (J and L), percent body mass loss as lean mass (M and O), and percent body mass loss as fat mass (N and P) in higher-protein and normal-protein groups. A, B, E, F, I, J, M, and N are results from the normal-protein group and the higher-protein group when protein intakes were defined as <25% and ≥25% of the daily total energy intake, respectively. C, D, G, H, K, L, O, and P are results from the normal-protein group and the higher-protein group when protein intakes were defined as <1.0 and ≥1.0 g/kg/d, respectively. Each percentage represents the proportion of groups in the categories of each variable.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Changes in body mass (A and C), percent body mass (B and D), fat mass (E and G), percent fat mass (F and H), lean mass (I and K), percent lean mass (J and L), percent body mass loss as lean mass (M and O), and percent body mass loss as fat mass (N and P) in higher-protein and normal-protein groups. A, B, E, F, I, J, M, and N are results from the normal-protein group and the higher-protein group when protein intakes were defined as <25% and ≥25% of the daily total energy intake, respectively. C, D, G, H, K, L, O, and P are results from the normal-protein group and the higher-protein group when protein intakes were defined as <1.0 and ≥1.0 g/kg/d, respectively. Each percentage represents the proportion of groups in the categories of each variable.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effect of protein intake (percent total energy from protein) on energy restriction–induced changes in body mass. A random-effects model was used for body mass index, since heterogeneity was observed in pooled data. Abbreviations: F, female; M, male; SD, standard deviation.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effect of protein intake (g/kg/d) on energy restriction–induced changes in body mass. A fixed-effects model was used for lean mass, since no heterogeneity was observed in pooled data. Abbreviations: F, female; M, male; SD, standard deviation.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Effect of protein intake (percent total energy from protein) on energy restriction–induced changes in lean mass. A fixed- effects model was used for fat mass, since no heterogeneity was observed in pooled data. Abbreviations: F, female; M, male; SD, standard deviation.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Effect of protein intake (g/kg/d) on energy restriction–induced changes in lean mass. A fixed-effects model was used for body mass index, since no heterogeneity was observed in pooled data. Abbreviations: F, female; M, male; SD, standard deviation
Figure 7
Figure 7
Effect of protein intake (percent total energy from protein) on energy restriction–induced changes in fat mass. A fixed-effects model was used for lean mass, since no heterogeneity was observed in pooled data. Abbreviations: F, female; M, male; SD, standard deviation.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Effect of protein intake (g/kg/d) on energy restriction–induced changes in fat mass. A fixed-effects model was used for fat mass, since no heterogeneity was observed in pooled data. Abbreviations: F, female; M, male; SD, standard deviation.
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