Senior Nutrition Needs

jfalkine85

I would like to suggest MyFitnessPal review its daily protein goal calculation for people age 55 and older. I am a moderately active male 70 years of age with a BMI of 22. MyFitnessPal goal for protein is 102 grams per day. Recent research is pointing to a lower daily requirement. One calculation is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. Using this method my daily requirement of protein should be roughly 55 grams. The MyFitnessPal daily protein goal is probably well off the mark for me. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/daily-protein-needs-seniors-still-unsettled-201406117208

kommodevaran

Another calculation says 0.8 grams per pound of bodyweight. MFP calculates macros in percentages, and it's designed to be usable for people of all ages and with way different goals. You can set the macros as you wish.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

mph323

kommodevaran wrote: »

Another calculation says 0.8 grams per pound of bodyweight. MFP calculates macros in percentages, and it's designed to be usable for people of all ages and with way different goals. You can set the macros as you wish.

This ^^

You can set your protein macro percentage to whatever gets you the desired number of grams at your base calorie limit, but if you eat more or less, the grams will change with the number of calories logged. I think if you get premium you can set your macro goals in grams and it doesn't change with the number of calories logged.

Need2Exerc1se

If it's unsettled, why should they change it? They might change it from what is correct.

toxikon

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15640517

"The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for adults for protein is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. Protein tissue accounts for 30% of whole-body protein turnover but that rate declines to 20% or less by age 70.

The result of this phenomenon is that older adults require more protein/kilogram body weight than do younger adults.

Recently, it has become clear that the requirement for exogenous protein is at least 1.0 gram/kilogram body weight. Adequate dietary intake of protein may be more difficult for older adults to obtain. Dietary animal protein is the primary source of high biological value protein, iron, vitamin B(12), folic acid, biotin and other essential nutrients. In fact, egg protein is the standard against which all other proteins are compared. Compared to other high-quality protein sources like meat, poultry and seafood, eggs are the least expensive.

The importance of dietary protein cannot be underestimated in the diets of older adults; inadequate protein intake contributes to a decrease in reserve capacity, increased skin fragility, decreased immune function, poorer healing, and longer recuperation from illness."

There will always be conflicting studies, but what's the downside of getting a bit more protein in your diet? Don't the positives outweigh the negatives? 55g for an adult man seems too low, IMHO.

mph323

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

If it's unsettled, why should they change it? They might change it from what is correct.

Not sure what you mean - ?

sgt1372

jfalkine85 wrote: »

I would like to suggest MyFitnessPal review its daily protein goal calculation for people age 55 and older. I am a moderately active male 70 years of age with a BMI of 22. MyFitnessPal goal for protein is 102 grams per day. Recent research is pointing to a lower daily requirement. One calculation is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. Using this method my daily requirement of protein should be roughly 55 grams. The MyFitnessPal daily protein goal is probably well off the mark for me. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/daily-protein-needs-seniors-still-unsettled-201406117208

The 0.8g of protein per kg BW is the MINIMUM amount recommended. What you actually need and can use is probably much higher, especially if you are older and physically active.

I'm 67 and may protein goal is currently 145g/day but I often eat more than 200g of protein/day. On average, I eat between 0.8-1.2g of protein per # of BW each day and I have been doing so for over 18 months.

What I have read suggests that seniors should eat at least 1g of protein per # of BW.

My consumption has been right at this level for the past 18 months and I believe that doing do has contributed to my ability to lose and maintain weight and increase my strength and LBM while also losing fat during this time period.

I have no studies to prove that eating a high protein diet is the "reason" why I've able to achieve these things but the fact that I'm healthy and active at age 67 w/only 10% BF at 158# and am rated as stronger than 95-99% of the men my age/wt (depending on the lift based on the Strength Level database) is proof enough for me.

kimny72

mph323 wrote: »

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

If it's unsettled, why should they change it? They might change it from what is correct.

Not sure what you mean - ?

The link in the OP concludes that the question of protein recommendations is still unsettled. Which I also thought was odd given it doesn't agree with the point of his post.

mph323

kimny72 wrote: »

mph323 wrote: »

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

If it's unsettled, why should they change it? They might change it from what is correct.

Not sure what you mean - ?

The link in the OP concludes that the question of protein recommendations is still unsettled. Which I also thought was odd given it doesn't agree with the point of his post.

Ah, thanks!

RodaRose

@jfalkine85 Older adults need more protein to preserve muscle mass:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261561414001113
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261561415000746
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/101/6/1339S.short

middlehaitch

Here are another couple of useful links that emphasize the importance of a higher than .8g/1kg protein intake for those of us who are older.

I aim for 80-100g at a weight of 100-105 lbs, aged 64. I try to get a minimum of 25g per meal.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2760315/

https://www.iofbonehealth.org/preventing-sarcopenia

Cheers, h.

Just as a funny aside,
My son, an ironman triathlete, was talking with me a few years ago (just after I decided to get fit and strong) about nutrition and asked what my protein goals were. When I told him ~100g his eyebrows shot up 'aren't older people supposed to need less, not more?'
I felt so chuffed that I could explain to him that was out dated thinking, and why older people needed more, and show him the research- thanks to all the science-y MFP folk.

sijomial

OP - I would take the opposite view to you, the RDA is based on sedentary people and both the elderly and those who exercise would benefit from increasing substantially above that level.
Not just for muscle retention and synthesis but also for bone health.

From https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19460090

Osteoporosis and sarcopenia are degenerative diseases frequently associated with aging. The loss of bone and muscle results in significant morbidity, so preventing or attenuating osteoporosis and sarcopenia is an important public health goal. Dietary protein is crucial for development of bone and muscle, and recent evidence suggests that increasing dietary protein above the current Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) may help maintain bone and muscle mass in older individuals. Several epidemiological and clinical studies point to a salutary effect of protein intakes above the current RDA (0.8 g/kg per day) for adults aged 19 and older. There is evidence that the anabolic response of muscle to dietary protein is attenuated in elderly people, and as a result, the amount of protein needed to achieve anabolism is greater. Dietary protein also increases circulating insulin-like growth factor, which has anabolic effects on muscle and bone. Furthermore, increasing dietary protein increases calcium absorption, which could be anabolic for bone. Available evidence supports a beneficial effect of short-term protein intakes up to 1.6 to 1.8 g/kg per day, although long-term studies are needed to show safety and efficacy. Future studies should employ functional measures indicative of protein adequacy, as well as measures of muscle protein synthesis and maintenance of muscle and bone tissue, to determine the optimal level of dietary protein. Given the available data, increasing the RDA for older individuals to 1.0 to 1.2 g/kg per day would maintain normal calcium metabolism and nitrogen balance without affecting renal function and may represent a compromise while longer-term protein supplement trials are pending.

jfalkine85

To all. My post suggested myfitnesspal review its daily protein goal for persons 55 and older. After reviewing, they might be able to tweak the algorithm to allow for some flexibility due to somewhat contradictory research.

deannalfisher

you can always tweak what MFP provides you - they don't need to tweak the algorithm - you adjust your percentages as you deside

sijomial

jfalkine85 wrote: »

To all. My post suggested myfitnesspal review its daily protein goal for persons 55 and older. After reviewing, they might be able to tweak the algorithm to allow for some flexibility due to somewhat contradictory research.

Online version - go to Goals, click on edit in the Daily Nutrition Goals section.

Think you should do far more research before you consider reducing your protein goal but it's your choice of course.
It's quite common for people on here to increase their protein goal and also treat it as a minimum not a limit.