LB079 - FUNCTIONAL RESPONSES TO DIETARY PROTEIN IN AGEING ADULTS WITH OBESITY

LB079

FUNCTIONAL RESPONSES TO DIETARY PROTEIN IN AGEING ADULTS WITH OBESITY

L. Daimiel Ruiz^1,2,*, L. López-Lora¹, S. Pereira³, A. Carbonell⁴, D. Jiménez-Pavón⁴, R. Rueda⁵, J. M. Ordovás⁶, V. de la O¹

¹Precision Nutrition and Obesity, IMDEA Nutrition, ²CIBERobn, Madrid, Spain, ³Nutrition Division, Abbott, Columbus, United States, ⁴Departamento de Educación Física, Universidad de Cádiz, Cádiz, ⁵Nutrition Division, Abbott, Granada, Spain, ⁶Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Boston, United States

Rationale: High protein intake is commonly recommended for older adults with obesity (OB) to help preserve muscle mass and prevent sarcopenic obesity. We examined the associations between habitual protein intake and physical function measures in older adults with particular attention to BMI categories.

Methods: Cross-sectional study of 476 adults aged 50-79 years from the multicentre InLIFE-AGING cohort (Spain). Protein intake was categorised from <0.8 to ≥1.5 g/kg/day using a validated FFQ. Outcomes included chair-stand (repetitions/30 s), SPPB (0–12 points), gait speed (m/s), 6MWT (m/s), and handgrip strength (kg). Multilevel mixed-effects models with sequential adjustment were stratified by BMI phenotype (normal weight, overweight, obese [OB]).

Results: adiposity were observed for both, chair stand test (p-int=0.001) and SPPB score (p-int =0.003). Walking speed and upper-extremity outcomes showed no consistent associations.

Conclusion: In older adults with OB, high habitual protein intake was associated with better lower-extremity functional performance, with threshold effects emerging around ≥1.0 g/kg/day. These findings are consistent with current recommendations for higher protein intake in older adults with obesity and support further longitudinal and intervention studies.

Disclosure of Interest: L. Daimiel Ruiz: None declared, L. López-Lora: None declared, S. Pereira Grant / Research Support from: > 50,000 €, A. Carbonell: None declared, D. Jiménez-Pavón: None declared, R. Rueda Grant / Research Support from: >50,000€, J. Ordovás: None declared, V. de la O: None declared