Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Toronto, 100 Devonshire Place, Toronto, ON, M5S 2C9, Canada.
Sports Med. 2021 Sep;51(Suppl 1):13-30. doi: 10.1007/s40279-021-01510-0. Epub 2021 Sep 13.
It is established that protein requirements are elevated in athletes to support their training and post-exercise recovery and adaptation, especially within skeletal muscle. However, research on the requirements for this macronutrient has been performed almost exclusively in younger athletes, which may complicate their translation to the growing population of Master athletes (i.e. > 35 years old). In contrast to older (> 65 years) untrained adults who typically demonstrate anabolic resistance to dietary protein as a primary mediator of the 'normal' age-related loss of muscle mass and strength, Master athletes are generally considered successful models of aging as evidenced by possessing similar body composition, muscle mass, and aerobic fitness as untrained adults more than half their age. The primary physiology changes considered to underpin the anabolic resistance of aging are precipitated or exacerbated by physical inactivity, which has led to higher protein recommendations to stimulate muscle protein synthesis in older untrained compared to younger untrained adults. This review puts forth the argument that Master athletes have similar muscle characteristics, physiological responses to exercise, and protein metabolism as young athletes and, therefore, are unlikely to have protein requirements that are different from their young contemporaries. Recommendations for protein amount, type, and pattern will be discussed for Master athletes to enhance their recovery from and adaptation to resistance and endurance training.
研究已经证实，运动员的蛋白质需求量增加，以支持他们的训练和运动后的恢复与适应，尤其是在骨骼肌中。然而，对于这种宏量营养素的需求研究几乎完全是在年轻运动员中进行的，这可能会使这些研究结果难以应用于不断增长的中老年运动员群体（即年龄>35 岁）。与通常表现出对膳食蛋白质合成代谢抵抗的年龄较大（>65 岁）、未经训练的成年人不同，中老年运动员通常被认为是成功的衰老模型，其证据是他们拥有与年龄较小一半以上的未经训练成年人相似的身体成分、肌肉质量和有氧健身水平。被认为是导致衰老合成代谢抵抗的主要生理变化是由身体活动减少引起或加剧的，这导致对未经训练的老年人的蛋白质推荐量增加，以刺激肌肉蛋白质合成，而年轻人则不需要这么多。本综述提出了这样一个论点，即中老年运动员具有与年轻运动员相似的肌肉特征、对运动的生理反应和蛋白质代谢，因此，他们的蛋白质需求不太可能与年轻运动员不同。本文将讨论中老年运动员的蛋白质量、类型和模式的推荐，以促进他们从抗阻和耐力训练中恢复和适应。
