A 4-week exercise and protein program improves muscle mass and physical functioning in older adults - A pilot study

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Exercise Physiology
• Nutritional Science

Background:

• Prehabilitation aims to mitigate surgery-related declines in muscle mass and physical function.
• While exercise and protein supplementation benefit older adults, studies typically require 12+ weeks.
• The limited 30-day pre-surgery training window raises questions about achieving comparable results.

Purpose of the Study:

• To pilot-test a four-week combined exercise and protein supplementation program.
• To evaluate the program's effectiveness on skeletal muscle outcomes in Dutch older adults.
• To assess feasibility within a short intervention timeframe.

Main Methods:

• A one-armed pilot trial involving 17 older adults (aged 55-75).
• A 4-week intervention: twice-weekly supervised resistance and high-intensity aerobic exercise (75 min each).
• Daily protein supplementation (2 doses of 15.5 g/day).

Main Results:

• High compliance: 99.3% for training, 97% for protein supplementation.
• Significant increases in quadriceps cross-sectional area (CSA) in both legs (2.3-3.2 cm²).
• Improvements in isometric quadriceps maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) (14-17 Nm), chair rise time (-3.8 s), and VO₂-max (3.3 ml/min/kg).

Conclusions:

• A 4-week combined exercise and protein intervention effectively improved muscle-related outcomes in older adults.
• The program demonstrated significant gains in muscle size, strength, and aerobic capacity.
• This short-term intervention is a viable option for improving physical function in older adults.