Is there a beneficial effect of a high-protein diet on body composition and strength capacity in physical active middle-aged individuals?-An eight-week randomized controlled trial

Demographic changes are resulting in a continual increase in the proportion of individuals over 65 years old. Simultaneously, muscle mass (MM) tends to decrease with age, with a decline noticeable from the middle of the fourth decade of life. While physical activity is considered a modulator for maintaining MM, the interaction with nutrient uptake, especially protein intake, is getting more into focus. Due to a lack of data on the effect of a high-protein diet on middle-aged individuals (40-65 years), this study aimed to investigate the influence of a high-protein diet in middle-aged physically active persons on body composition and performance. Using stratified randomization, participants were allocated to either a high-protein group (>2.3 g/kg FFM/day) ( = 12, age = 57.83 ± 7.74 years, height = 170.42 cm ± 11.04 cm, BMI = 30.26 ± 4.46, MM = 31.71 ± 6.89 kg) or a control group (