Understanding the impacts of nutritional education to help in the treatment of age-related muscle loss
Understanding the translational impact of nutrition education to treat sarcopenia in participants aged 60 -80 years old
Swinburne University
200 participants
Oct 24, 2025
Interventional
Conditions
Summary
The purpose of this study is to gain insight into reducing the negative health effects associated with sarcopenia. As sarcopenia is a condition that affects many older adults, and we wish to explore the effects on people’s perceptions and behaviors of providing information about exercise and protein-based strategies for maintaining muscle health in this population. Skeletal muscle health is a critical component of overall health and wellbeing, particularly for older adults. Sarcopenia is a disease defined by the age-associated decline in skeletal muscle mass and function and can predisposes older adults to frailty, loss of independence, and premature death. Nutritional support is a key strategy in the prevention of sarcopenia, with nutritional interventions including a protein-rich diet and/or protein supplementation. However, implementation of straightforward nutrition educational practices based on current scientific information that are aimed at improving muscle for older adults is a severely overlooked aspect in current treatment and management strategies of sarcopenia. Therefore, this research project aims to improve knowledge, practice, and implementation of nutrition and exercise as interventional strategies in the treatment of sarcopenia in older adults.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria2
- Aged between 60-80 years.
- Community-dwelling (i.e.: not living in an aged-care facility, etc)
Exclusion Criteria6
- (1) Being aged <60 years or >80 years of age,
- (2) Inability to stand unaided,
- (3) Acute or terminal illness likely to compromise exercise participation,
- (4) Unstable or ongoing cardiovascular/respiratory disorder,
- (5) Musculoskeletal or neurological disease or functional limitations disrupting voluntary movement or that might have limited training
- (7) Inability to commit to the study and its requirement.
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Interventions
All participants will be invited to the Swinburne campus on three separate occasions to undertake the different aspects of the research project: • Visit 1 (~1 hour in duration): - Sign study consent forms and provide research team Medical Clearance form from participant's GP - Sign Exercise and Sports Science Australia (ESSA) Adult Pre-Exercise Screening System form for exercise clearance - Complete Protein Knowledge and Sarcopenia Awareness questionnaires - Complete questionnaires of self-reported physical activity, activities of daily living, and health-related quality of life - Undertake sarcopenia diagnostic testing including maximum handgrip strength, body composition measurement (muscle mass and body fat), and a Short Physical Performance Battery consisting of gait speed, chair stand test, and balance. • Visit 2 (1 week after visit 1; ~1 hour in duration): - Complete current habitual diet questionnaire - Attend the professional education session on protein nutrition and exercise for promoting skeletal muscle health - Provide participants the ‘Muscle Matters: Preventing Sarcopenia with Lifestyle Changes’ educational resource manual that has been designed by the research team specifically for this study. • Visit 3 (3 months after visit 1; ~1 hour in duration): - Complete Protein Knowledge and Sarcopenia Awareness questionnaires - Complete questionnaires of self-reported physical activity, activities of daily living, and health-related quality of life - Complete current habitual diet questionnaire - Undertake sarcopenia Diagnostic testing including maximum handgrip strength, body composition measurement (muscle mass and body fat), and a Short Physical Performance Battery consisting of gait speed, chair stand test, and balance. All study visits will be supervised and co-conducted by Dr. Donny Camera (over 15 years research in skeletal muscle health involving exercise and nutrition), Dr. Stephen Keenan (Accredited Practicing Dietitian with over 5 years nutrition research) and Jennifer (Accredited Practicing Dietitian with over 10 years nutrition research). Attendance at each of the three visits will be recorded by the research team. Adherence to the information provided to the participants within the resource booklet between Visits 2 and 3 will not be directly measured by the research team. This is on purpose to allow participants to naturally include aspects of the information in the resource booklet into their habitual lifestyle. Measures obtained in Visit 3 will provide the research team some indication as to whether, and to what extent, participants have adhered to information within the resource booklet.
Locations(1)
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ACTRN12625000091404