Ingestão de proteína de acordo com as novas propostas não aumenta o ganho de massa magra quando comparado com as recomendações propostas pela RDA em mulheres pós-menopausadas após protocolo de exercício de força: um ensaio clínico randomizado

Abstract

Introduction: Recent studies have been suggested that protein intake according to Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) (0.8 gkg-1d-1) seems to be insufficient for older individuals. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a new proposal of protein intake compared to RDA recommendation on lean body mass (LBM) gain in postmenopausal women (PMW) practicing resistance exercise. Material and methods: Twenty-three PMW (63.2±7.8y) were randomised into two groups. The group with new proposal (n=11) (high protein - HP) received a dietary plan with ~1.2 gkg-1d-1 of protein, while the group with RDA recommendation (n=12) (normal protein - NP) was instructed to ingest ~0.8 gkg-1d-1 of protein. Both groups performed the same resistance training protocol, which consisted of three times a week, with progression of the number of series (from 1 to 6 sets) and 8-12 repetitions. The intervention occurred during 10- weeks. Body composition evaluation was performed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The diet was evaluated by nine 24-hour food recall. Results: During the protocol, HP group presented higher intake of protein (1.18±0.3 vs. 0.87±0.2 gkg-1d-1, p=0.008) and leucine (6.0±1.4 vs 4.3±0.9 g/day, p<0.001) than the NP group, respectively. At the end, there were an increase in LBM both in HP (37.1±6.2 vs 38.4±6.5 kg, p=0.004) and in NP (37.6±6.2 vs 38.8±6.4 kg, p<0.001), with no differences between groups (p=0.572). Conclusion: Therefore, we concluded that a protein intake close to new proposals did not lead to higher LBM gain, when compared to RDA recommendation in PMW performing resistance exercise during 10-weeks. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03024125.