Older men needed more than twice the protein per meal
Pooled tracer data put the dose that maximises muscle building at 0.60 g per kg of lean mass in men around 71, against 0.25 g in men around 22.
What the study found
Per kilo of lean mass, older men needed over twice the protein
Pooled tracer data put the per-meal dose that maximises muscle protein building at 0.60 g per kg of lean mass in men around seventy-one, against 0.25 g in men around twenty-two. Resting turnover was identical in the two groups. What ages is the response to a dose, not the baseline.
The caveat · Borderline by whole body weight
Expressed per kilo of whole body mass, the widely quoted 0.40 against 0.24, the same comparison reached only p = 0.055. This pools data from studies run earlier for other purposes rather than a trial built for the question. Men only, in both age groups. It measures a building rate over hours, not muscle held onto over years.