Counteracting Age-related Loss of Skeletal Muscle Mass (CALM)
Counteracting Age-related Loss of Skeletal Muscle Mass (CALM) was an interdisciplinary research project at the University of Copenhagen. The aim of the project was to develop new and better recommendations for physical activity and protein intake for older people. This research project involved the investigation of the effect of whey protein supplementation alone or combined with either light home exercise or heavy strength training in older individuals over 65 years of age.
From around the age of 50, individuals experience a gradual loss of muscle mass and strength. This loss contributes to a steady deterioration of physical functioning, which may eventually cause the loss of physical independence. As the average life expectancy is progressively increasing and with it the number of older citizens, the age-related loss of physical independence is therefore not only a problem for individuals who wish to maintain their functional capacity but is also a societal challenge due to the potentially high economic costs associated with increased care and assistance.
The role of CoRe researchers in the project is to contribute cultural and historical perspectives on older people’s physical activity(-ies), food, and protein intake. In addition, they collect and incorporate knowledge about older people’s everyday life and health practices into the innovation initiatives of the project. The insights provided by the ethnologists are expected to be essential in innovation projects. By gaining an improved understanding of how habits change over the course of a clinical trial and how this process extends to everyday practices, the project results can be used for influencing new types of food and eating habits. This project brings together physiologists, sensory scientists, microbiologists, historians, and ethnologists through clinical trials, cultural analysis work, and innovation projects.
The cultural historical contribution studies how the scientific and societal perceptions and practices concerning the health and nutritional needs of older people in Denmark in the 20th century, with emphasis on protein intake and physical activity. The studies are based on source material from public institutions as well as political and scientific discussions about the health and living conditions of older people.
The discovery and understanding of perceptions and practices around older people’s eating, protein intake, and physical activity(ies) are highlighted in the cultural-analytical contribution. The researchers are partly following the participants in the clinical trials of the project. The aim is to gain insights into everyday life as a trial subject and how it affects the participants’ eating and exercise practices. The researchers also focus on other groups of older people. In the sub-project Appetite for Food, the researchers underscore the eating strategies and relationship with food of older people living at home. In addition, the researchers are conducting studies on the wider older population’s relationship with physical activity and protein, as well as how protein appears and is perceived in society and the food industry.
The ethnologists in CALM focus on how subjects incorporate the clinical trials into their everyday practices, as well as how general developments in food research are changing practices related to eating.
The results of the CALM-project indicate that whey protein alone does not trigger beneficial effects in healthy older people who already eat a healthy and varied diet. Furthermore, the addition of light, home-based strength training is insufficient to bring valuable effects to muscle mass and function. However, the combination of heavy strength training and whey protein is effective in maintaining muscle mass and increasing muscle strength; therefore, such approach should be recommended for healthy older adults.
Kenneth H. Mertz, Søren Reitelseder, Rasmus Bechshoeft, Jacob Bulow, Grith Højfeldt, Mikkel Jensen, Simon R. Schacht, Mads Vendelbo Lind, Morten A. Rasmussen, Ulla R. Mikkelsen, Inge Tetens, Søren B. Engelsen, Dennis S. Nielsen, Astrid P. Jespersen, Lars Holm: “The effect of daily protein supplementation with or without resistance training for 1 year on muscle size, strength and function in healthy older adults. A randomized controlled trial.” Am J Clin Nutr. 2021 Feb 10.
Grith Højfeldt, Yusuke Nishimura, Kenneth Mertz, Simon R. Schacht, Jonas Lindberg, Mikkel Jensen, Morten Hjulmand, Mads Vendelbo Lind, Tenna Jensen, Astrid Pernille Jespersen, Søren Reitelseder, Inge Tetens, Lars Holm: “Daily Protein and Energy Intake Are Not Associated with Muscle Mass and Physical Function in Healthy Older Individuals: A Cross-Sectional Study.” Nutrients 12(9): 2794, 2020.
Josué L. Castro-Mejía, Bekzod Khakimov, Lukasz Krych, Jacob Bülow, Rasmus L. Bechshøft, Grith Højfeldt, Kenneth H. Mertz, Eva Stahl Garne, Simon R. Schacht, Hajar F. Ahmad, Witold Kot, Lars H. Hansen, Federico J. A. Perez-Cueto, Mads V. Lind, Aske J. Lassen, Inge Tetens, Tenna Jensen, Søren Reitelseder, Astrid P. Jespersen, Lars Holm, Søren B. Engelsen, Dennis S. Nielsen: “Physical fitness in community dwelling older adults is linked to dietary intake, gut microbiota and metabolomic signatures.” Aging Cell 19: e13105, 2020.
Simon Rønnow Schacht, Mads Vendelbo Lind, Rasmus Leidesdorff Bechshøft, Grith Højfeldt, Søren Reitelseder, Tenna Jensen, Astrid Pernille Jespersen, Dennis Sandris Nielsen, Lars Holm, Inge Tetens: “Investigating risk of suboptimal macro and micronutrient intake and their determinants in older Danish adults with specific focus on protein intake: A cross-sectional study.” Nutrients 11(4): 795, 2019.
Tenna Jensen, Rasmus L Bechshoeft, Davide Giacalone, Marie Haulund Otto, Josue Castro-Mejía, Hajar Fauzan Bin Ahmad, Søren Reitelseder, Astrid Pernille Jespersen: “Whey protein stories – an experiment in writing a multidisciplinary biography.” Appetite 107: 285–294, 2016.
Rasmus L. Bechshøft, Søren Reitelseder, Grith Højfeldt, Josué L. Castro-Mejía, Bekzod Khakimov, Hajar F. B. Ahmad, Michael Kjær, Søren B. Engelsen, Susanne M. B. Johansen, Morten A. Rasmussen, Aske J. Lassen, Tenna Jensen, Nina Beyer, Anja Serena, Frederico J. A. Perez-Cueto, Dennis S. Nielsen, Astrid P. Jespersen, Lars Holm: “Counteracting Age-related Loss of Skeletal Muscle Mass: a clinical and ethnological trial on the role of protein supplementation and training load (CALM Intervention Study): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.” Trials 17(1): 397, 2016.
Lars Holm, Astrid Pernille Jespersen, Dennis S. Nielsen, Michael B. Frøst, Søren Reitelseder, Tenna Jensen, Søren B. Engelsen, Michael Kjaer and Tine Damsholt: “Hurrah for increasing longevity: feasible strategies to counteract age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass.” Scand J Med Sci Sci Sports 25: 1–2, 2015.
Researchers
| Name | Title | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jespersen, Astrid Pernille | Professor | ||
| Lassen, Aske Juul | Associate Professor |
Jensen, Tenna
Funding
The projects is funded by UCPH Excellence Programme for Interdisciplinary Research.
PI: Astrid Jespersen
Project period: 2013-2018