Appropriate protein intake is one strategy in the management of metabolic syndrome in Korean elderly to mitigate changes in body composition.

Higher protein intake could reduce metabolic syndrome (MetS) by managing body composition among Korean elderly although the research is scant. Herein, we examined the hypothesis that the optimal protein intake of Korean elderly is associated with both improvements in MetS risk as well as favorable changes in body composition. The present study employs a national data source, the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES, 2009), and a total 1,567 elderly (651 men and 916 women) were included in the final data analyses. The incidence of sarcopenia was significantly greater in MetS group than normal group. We observed significantly differences in the amount of protein in the participants' diet that related to sex, income, and education level. The highest protein consumption group had significantly reduced abdominal obesity (44%; 0.293-0.652, P < .001), lower HDL-cholesterol (47%, 0.316-0.683, P < .001), elevated TG (45%, 0.298-0.679, P < .001), and MetS (42%, 0.293-0.598, P < .001) compared to the other groups, after adjustment for sex, income, education level. Total muscle mass were correlated positively with protein consumption, but there was a negative correlation between protein consumption and total fat mass. The present study suggests that at least 0.8 g/kg per day of protein may reduce MetS and help manage body composition changes to mitigate MetS in Korean elderly.