Protein for Life: Towards a Focused Dietary Framework for Healthy Ageing

西方社会的寿命要长得多，“健康老龄化”现在正成为公共卫生的一个非常重要的优先事项。衰老与肌肉大小和力量的减少（称为肌肉减少症）密切相关。这种肌肉的丧失会影响人们的平衡能力、行走能力和完成日常生活任务的整体能力。这可能导致丧失独立性和行动能力，从而影响生活质量和福祉，并增加保健费用。众所周知，缺乏运动和营养不良会加速肌肉大小和力量的丧失，然而，我们都能够改变我们生活方式的这些方面，变得更活跃，吃更健康的饮食。蛋白质含量低的饮食是导致肌肉减少症的主要原因之一，有人建议老年人摄入比目前建议的更多的蛋白质。然而，老龄化人口的一个主要饮食缺陷是普遍未能达到推荐的蛋白质摄入量。众所周知，食物摄入量，包括富含蛋白质的食物，会随着年龄的增长而减少，这可归因于一系列因素，包括食欲不振、感知和口味的变化、生活条件和经济原因。意识到可能阻止老年人增加每日总蛋白质摄入量的因素后，我们应该把重点放在全天增加蛋白质摄入量的策略上，而不仅仅是一顿饭。目前严重缺乏能够帮助满足老龄化人口对蛋白质需求的主流食品，这些食品功能性强、味道好且价格合理。因此，这项研究的目的是确定和制定可持续的、具有成本效益和令人愉快的健康老龄化蛋白质产品指南。这些信息将为食品工业提供新产品开发和现有产品的重新配方，以适应这一人群。我们的研究将采用多种不同的方法，最终制定并传播食品工业制定美味高蛋白食品的指导方针。首先，我们将采用不同来源的现有数据来开发蛋白质摄入的类型，数量，质量和时间的概况。此外，我们亦会与40至54岁、55至69岁及70岁以上的公众人士进行一系列焦点小组讨论，进一步了解在中年及晚年进食富含蛋白质食物的障碍及促进因素。我们还将进行一系列实验，以进一步了解不同年龄组食物选择和决策的驱动因素，重点关注蛋白质的作用。进一步的目标是整理学术文献和食品工业提供的关于可用于新产品的最佳蛋白质来源的信息。这将包括考虑蛋白质的组成、适口性、可持续性、成本和公众接受度。所有这些信息将被用于为食品行业提供一套新产品的“设计规则”。然后，我们将与我们的行业合作伙伴合作，根据设计规则开发和试验一些示例产品。然后，这些产品将在中年人和老年人群体中进行适口性和可接受性测试，然后进行相应的改进。重要的是，我们将确保研究结果随后传播给主要利益相关者，包括公众、政策制定者和食品行业。我们希望这项研究也将提供一个更一般的路线图，以告知未来的产品开发。

Western society is living a lot longer, and 'ageing well' is now becoming a very important priority for public health. Ageing goes hand in hand with a loss of muscle size and strength (known as sarcopenia). This loss of muscle affects people's balance, ability to walk, and overall ability to complete daily living tasks. This can lead to a loss of independence and mobility, which can impact on quality of life, well-being and increase health-care costs. Physical inactivity and poor nutrition are known to speed up the loss of muscle size and strength, however, we are all able to change these aspects of our lifestyle and become more active and consume a healthier diet. A diet low in protein is one of the main causes of sarcopenia, and it has been recommended that older individuals eat more protein than is currently advised. However, a key dietary deficiency for the ageing population is the widespread failure to achieve recommended intakes for protein consumption. Food intakes, including protein-rich foods, are known to decline with age and this is attributable to a range of factors including loss of appetite, changes in perceptions and taste, living conditions and financial reasons. Being aware of factors that may prevent older adults from increasing their total daily protein intake, we should focus on strategies to increase protein intake across the day rather than at just one meal. There is a severe lack of mainstream food products that can help meet the protein needs of an ageing population that are functional, taste good and are affordable. The purpose of this research is therefore to identify and develop guidelines for protein products for healthy ageing that are sustainable, cost effective and enjoyable. This information will then inform the food industry for new product development and reformulation of existing products that are appropriate for this population. Our study will take a number of different approaches to ultimately develop and disseminate guidelines to the food industry for the formulation of palatable higher-protein foods. First, we will take different sources of existing data to develop a profile of the type, quantity, quality and timing of protein intake in the . Alongside this, we will undertake a series of focus groups with members of the public (aged 40-54 years, 55-69 years and 70+ years) to further understand the barriers to and the facilitators of the consumption of protein rich foods in mid-life and later life. We will also run a series of experiments to further understand drivers of food choice and decision making in different age groups with a focus on the role of protein. A further objective is to collate information available in the academic literature and from the food industry on the optimal sources of protein that could be used in new products. This will include consideration of the composition of the proteins, palatability, sustainability, cost and public acceptance. All of this information will then be used to provide the food industry with a set of 'design rules' for new products. Working with our industry partners, we will then develop and trial some exemplar products based on the design rules. The products will then be tested for palatability and acceptability in groups of mid-life and older adults and then refined accordingly. Importantly, we will ensure that the findings of the study are then disseminated to key stakeholders including the public, policy makers and the food industry. We hope that this research will also provide a more general roadmap to inform future product development.