Combating muscle wastage in the elderly through greater understanding of the mechanisms of protein coupled with exercise is the primary focus of a three year research project involving Nestlé’s Research Centre and leading sports nutrition and physical performance research institutes. The global population is expected to increase to 9.1bn by 2050 — up from 6.5bn in 2005; and 21 per cent of people will be over the age of 60 in 2050, compared to 10 per cent in 2000. Nestlé scientist Dr Trent Stellingwerff said its researchers along with experts from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and the Australian Institute of Sport as well McMaster University in Canada are teaming up in order to evaluate the potential of synergising protein intake and exercise to stave off the gradual decline in muscle mass, strength and function for this growing age group. Maintaining an optimal body composition (including adequate muscle mass) throughout the lifespan can greatly enhance general physical performance and the overall quality of life, states the Nestlé researcher. He said the project has just been green lighted through the receipt of funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC), and will also evaluate the impact of nutrition and exercise on the quality and quantity of muscle mass in young adults with a view to boosting their sport performance. Stellingwerff told Nutraingredients.com that the Nestlé researchers will employ cutting edge technologies such as gene microarray platforms to assess muscle samples post exercise from a genome and molecular biology perspective while the role of the Canadian team will be to evaluate protein synthesis in muscle mass. «The studies involving human participants will take place in Australia and Canada, as the institutes involved are pioneers in the field of nutrition and physical performance and have a long history of undertaking clinical trials in this field,» said Stellingwerff. The project teams are primarily focused at this early stage on building the science around macro nutrient proteins through gaining a greater insight into the mechanism and characteristics of their release, said the Nestlé scientist.

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