Keeping your muscles as you age: what about protein at breakfast?

After 60, muscles can still be built… as long as you give them work and the right building blocks.

A gradual loss, but not inevitable

With age, muscle mass and strength gradually decline: this is sarcopenia. It increases the risk of falls and loss of independence. The good news: it can be slowed down, and physical activity, especially strength training, remains the most effective lever. Diet, particularly protein, comes on top of that.

The study

Researchers in Quebec (McGill University, the Universities of Sherbrooke and Montreal) followed around 1,700 people aged 67 to 84 for three years, analysing not only how much protein they ate but also how they spread it over the day.

Their finding: for a comparable total amount, participants who spread their protein evenly across three meals had greater muscle strength than those who ate most of it in the evening. However, this distribution was not linked to a better change in mobility over the three years.

This is an observational study: it shows an association, not proof. But it is in line with other research on how older people's muscles use protein.

In practice

• Add a source of protein at breakfast, often the poorest meal: egg, yoghurt or fromage blanc, cheese, milk, ham, peanut butter…
• Spread meat, fish, eggs, dairy and pulses across your meals rather than having them all in the evening.
• Move and get stronger: two strength sessions a week, even simple ones (getting up from a chair, calf raises, exercises with a resistance band), make a real difference.
• Talk to your doctor if you have unintentional weight loss, fatigue or kidney disease, which can change your needs.

Sources

• Farsijani S. et al., "Even mealtime distribution of protein intake is associated with greater muscle strength, but not with 3-y physical function decline, in free-living older adults: the Quebec longitudinal study on Nutrition as a Determinant of Successful Aging (NuAge study)", American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2017. See on PubMed
• Programme national nutrition santé (French national nutrition programme), guidelines for the over-65s, mangerbouger.fr.
• World Health Organization, guidelines on physical activity, 2020, who.int.