Dietary protein intake in sarcopenic obese older women

Objective: To determine the prevalence of sarcopenia in a population of obese older women and to assess the effect of a diet moderately-rich in proteins on lean mass in sarcopenic obese older women. Materials and methods: A total of 1,030 females, >65 years old, body mass index >30 kg/m(2), were investigated about their nutritional status. Muscle mass (MM) was estimated according to the Janssen equation (MM =0.401x height(2)/resistance measured at 50 k flz +3.825x sex-0.071x age +5.102). Sarcopenia was defined according to the MM index, MMiheight2 (kg/m2), as two standard deviations lower than the obesity-derived cutoff score (7.3 kg/m(2)). A food-frequency questionnaire was used to measure participants' usual food intake during the previous 3 months. Moreover, a group of sarcopenic obese older women (n=104) was divided in two subgroups: the first (normal protein intake [NPI], n=50) admntistered with a hypocaloric diet (0.8 g/kg desirable body weight/day of proteins), and the second treated with a hypocaloric diet containing 1.2 g/kg desirable body weight/day of proteins (high protein intake [HPI], n=54), for 3 months. Dietary ingestion was estimated according to a daily food diary-, self-administered, and three reports of nonconsecutive 24-hour recall every month during the follow-up. Results: The 10(4) women were classified as sarcopenic. After dieting, significant reductions in body mass index were detected (INN 30.7 +/- 1.3 vs 32.0 +/- 2.3 kg/m(2), UPI 30.26 +/- 0.90 vs 31.05 +/- 2.90 kg/m(2); P<0.01 vs baseline). The MM index presented significant variations in the NPI as well as in the HPI sarcopenic group (NPI 6.98 +/- 0.1 vs 7.10 +/- 0.2 kg/m(2), HPI 7.13 +/- 0.4 vs 6.96 0.1 kg/m(2); P<0.01 vs baseline). Conclusion: A diet moderately rich in proteins was able to preserve MM in sarcopenic women. Therefore, adequate protein intake could contribute to the prevention of lean-mass loss associated with weight reduction in obese older people.