Protein Valuation in Food Choice Is Positively Associated with Lean Mass in Older Adults

Charlotte M Buckley; Sophie Austin; Bernard M Corfe; Mark A Green; Alexandra M Johnstone; Emma J Stevenson; Elizabeth A Williams; Jeffrey M Brunstrom

doi:10.1093/jn/nxz124

Protein Valuation in Food Choice Is Positively Associated with Lean Mass in Older Adults

Charlotte M Buckley^* (Corresponding Author), Sophie Austin, Bernard M Corfe, Mark A Green, Alexandra M Johnstone, Emma J Stevenson, Elizabeth A Williams, Jeffrey M Brunstrom

^*Corresponding author for this work

The Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Calorie for calorie, protein is more satiating than carbohydrate or fat. However, it remains unclear whether humans perceive calories derived from these macronutrients equally and whether lean mass is associated with a tendency to "value" protein when dietary decisions are made.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine the test-retest reliability of a novel method for quantifying macronutrient valuations in human volunteers and to determine whether "protein valuation" is associated with a higher fat-free mass index (FFMI) in older adults.

METHODS: A 2-alternative, forced-choice task in which 25 foods were compared in 300 trials was undertaken in 2 studies. In study 1, participants (age range 19-71 y, n = 92) attended 2 test sessions, spaced 1 wk apart. In study 2, older adults (age range 40-85 y; n = 91) completed the food-choice task and assessed the test foods for liking, expected satiety, and perceived healthiness. Body composition and habitual protein intake were assessed in both studies. Data were analyzed through the use of individual binomial logistic regressions and multilevel binomial logistic regressions.

RESULTS: In study 1, measures of macronutrient valuation showed excellent test-retest reliability; responses in the forced-choice task were highly correlated (week 1 compared with week 2; protein, r = 0.83, P < 0.001; carbohydrate, r = 0.90, P < 0.001; fat, r = 0.90, P < 0.001). Calorie for calorie, protein and carbohydrate were stronger predictors of choice than fat (P < 0.001). In study 2, protein was a stronger predictor than both carbohydrate (P = 0.039) and fat (P = 0.003), and a positive interaction was observed between protein valuation and FFMI (OR = 1.64; 95% CI: 1.38, 1.95; P < 0.001). This was the case after controlling for age, gender, liking for foods, and habitual protein consumption.

CONCLUSIONS: Together, these findings demonstrate that adult humans value calories derived from protein, carbohydrate, and fat differently, and that the tendency to value protein is associated with greater lean mass in older adults.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	2056-2064
Number of pages	9
Journal	The Journal of Nutrition
Volume	149
Issue number	11
Early online date	14 Jun 2019
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxz124
Publication status	Published - 1 Nov 2019

Bibliographical note

Acknowledgments
The authors’ responsibilities were as follows—CMB and SA: collected the data; CMB: analyzed the data; CMB and JMB: wrote the manuscript; and all authors: designed the study, interpreted the data, critically revised the manuscript, and read and approved the final manuscript.

Funded by the Research Councils UK “Priming Food Partnerships” initiative supported by BBSRC, MRC, EPSRC, and ESRC (project reference BB/P023886/1).

Keywords

protein valuation
sarcopenia
food choice
body composition
fat-free mass index
lean mass
aging

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1093/jn/nxz124Licence: CC BY

Buckley_et_al_JoN_ProteinValuation_VoR
Copyright © American Society for Nutrition 2019. All rights reserved. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
Final published version, 490 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "Protein Valuation in Food Choice Is Positively Associated with Lean Mass in Older Adults",

abstract = "BACKGROUND: Calorie for calorie, protein is more satiating than carbohydrate or fat. However, it remains unclear whether humans perceive calories derived from these macronutrients equally and whether lean mass is associated with a tendency to {"}value{"} protein when dietary decisions are made.OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine the test-retest reliability of a novel method for quantifying macronutrient valuations in human volunteers and to determine whether {"}protein valuation{"} is associated with a higher fat-free mass index (FFMI) in older adults.METHODS: A 2-alternative, forced-choice task in which 25 foods were compared in 300 trials was undertaken in 2 studies. In study 1, participants (age range 19-71 y, n = 92) attended 2 test sessions, spaced 1 wk apart. In study 2, older adults (age range 40-85 y; n = 91) completed the food-choice task and assessed the test foods for liking, expected satiety, and perceived healthiness. Body composition and habitual protein intake were assessed in both studies. Data were analyzed through the use of individual binomial logistic regressions and multilevel binomial logistic regressions.RESULTS: In study 1, measures of macronutrient valuation showed excellent test-retest reliability; responses in the forced-choice task were highly correlated (week 1 compared with week 2; protein, r = 0.83, P < 0.001; carbohydrate, r = 0.90, P < 0.001; fat, r = 0.90, P < 0.001). Calorie for calorie, protein and carbohydrate were stronger predictors of choice than fat (P < 0.001). In study 2, protein was a stronger predictor than both carbohydrate (P = 0.039) and fat (P = 0.003), and a positive interaction was observed between protein valuation and FFMI (OR = 1.64; 95% CI: 1.38, 1.95; P < 0.001). This was the case after controlling for age, gender, liking for foods, and habitual protein consumption.CONCLUSIONS: Together, these findings demonstrate that adult humans value calories derived from protein, carbohydrate, and fat differently, and that the tendency to value protein is associated with greater lean mass in older adults.",

keywords = "protein valuation, sarcopenia, food choice, body composition, fat-free mass index, lean mass, aging",

author = "Buckley, {Charlotte M} and Sophie Austin and Corfe, {Bernard M} and Green, {Mark A} and Johnstone, {Alexandra M} and Stevenson, {Emma J} and Williams, {Elizabeth A} and Brunstrom, {Jeffrey M}",

note = "Acknowledgments The authors{\textquoteright} responsibilities were as follows—CMB and SA: collected the data; CMB: analyzed the data; CMB and JMB: wrote the manuscript; and all authors: designed the study, interpreted the data, critically revised the manuscript, and read and approved the final manuscript. Funded by the Research Councils UK “Priming Food Partnerships” initiative supported by BBSRC, MRC, EPSRC, and ESRC (project reference BB/P023886/1).",

year = "2019",

month = nov,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1093/jn/nxz124",

language = "English",

volume = "149",

pages = "2056--2064",

journal = "The Journal of Nutrition",

issn = "0022-3166",

publisher = "American Society for Nutrition",

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T1 - Protein Valuation in Food Choice Is Positively Associated with Lean Mass in Older Adults

AU - Buckley, Charlotte M

AU - Austin, Sophie

AU - Corfe, Bernard M

AU - Green, Mark A

AU - Johnstone, Alexandra M

AU - Stevenson, Emma J

AU - Williams, Elizabeth A

AU - Brunstrom, Jeffrey M

N1 - Acknowledgments The authors’ responsibilities were as follows—CMB and SA: collected the data; CMB: analyzed the data; CMB and JMB: wrote the manuscript; and all authors: designed the study, interpreted the data, critically revised the manuscript, and read and approved the final manuscript. Funded by the Research Councils UK “Priming Food Partnerships” initiative supported by BBSRC, MRC, EPSRC, and ESRC (project reference BB/P023886/1).

PY - 2019/11/1

Y1 - 2019/11/1

N2 - BACKGROUND: Calorie for calorie, protein is more satiating than carbohydrate or fat. However, it remains unclear whether humans perceive calories derived from these macronutrients equally and whether lean mass is associated with a tendency to "value" protein when dietary decisions are made.OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine the test-retest reliability of a novel method for quantifying macronutrient valuations in human volunteers and to determine whether "protein valuation" is associated with a higher fat-free mass index (FFMI) in older adults.METHODS: A 2-alternative, forced-choice task in which 25 foods were compared in 300 trials was undertaken in 2 studies. In study 1, participants (age range 19-71 y, n = 92) attended 2 test sessions, spaced 1 wk apart. In study 2, older adults (age range 40-85 y; n = 91) completed the food-choice task and assessed the test foods for liking, expected satiety, and perceived healthiness. Body composition and habitual protein intake were assessed in both studies. Data were analyzed through the use of individual binomial logistic regressions and multilevel binomial logistic regressions.RESULTS: In study 1, measures of macronutrient valuation showed excellent test-retest reliability; responses in the forced-choice task were highly correlated (week 1 compared with week 2; protein, r = 0.83, P < 0.001; carbohydrate, r = 0.90, P < 0.001; fat, r = 0.90, P < 0.001). Calorie for calorie, protein and carbohydrate were stronger predictors of choice than fat (P < 0.001). In study 2, protein was a stronger predictor than both carbohydrate (P = 0.039) and fat (P = 0.003), and a positive interaction was observed between protein valuation and FFMI (OR = 1.64; 95% CI: 1.38, 1.95; P < 0.001). This was the case after controlling for age, gender, liking for foods, and habitual protein consumption.CONCLUSIONS: Together, these findings demonstrate that adult humans value calories derived from protein, carbohydrate, and fat differently, and that the tendency to value protein is associated with greater lean mass in older adults.

AB - BACKGROUND: Calorie for calorie, protein is more satiating than carbohydrate or fat. However, it remains unclear whether humans perceive calories derived from these macronutrients equally and whether lean mass is associated with a tendency to "value" protein when dietary decisions are made.OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine the test-retest reliability of a novel method for quantifying macronutrient valuations in human volunteers and to determine whether "protein valuation" is associated with a higher fat-free mass index (FFMI) in older adults.METHODS: A 2-alternative, forced-choice task in which 25 foods were compared in 300 trials was undertaken in 2 studies. In study 1, participants (age range 19-71 y, n = 92) attended 2 test sessions, spaced 1 wk apart. In study 2, older adults (age range 40-85 y; n = 91) completed the food-choice task and assessed the test foods for liking, expected satiety, and perceived healthiness. Body composition and habitual protein intake were assessed in both studies. Data were analyzed through the use of individual binomial logistic regressions and multilevel binomial logistic regressions.RESULTS: In study 1, measures of macronutrient valuation showed excellent test-retest reliability; responses in the forced-choice task were highly correlated (week 1 compared with week 2; protein, r = 0.83, P < 0.001; carbohydrate, r = 0.90, P < 0.001; fat, r = 0.90, P < 0.001). Calorie for calorie, protein and carbohydrate were stronger predictors of choice than fat (P < 0.001). In study 2, protein was a stronger predictor than both carbohydrate (P = 0.039) and fat (P = 0.003), and a positive interaction was observed between protein valuation and FFMI (OR = 1.64; 95% CI: 1.38, 1.95; P < 0.001). This was the case after controlling for age, gender, liking for foods, and habitual protein consumption.CONCLUSIONS: Together, these findings demonstrate that adult humans value calories derived from protein, carbohydrate, and fat differently, and that the tendency to value protein is associated with greater lean mass in older adults.

KW - protein valuation

KW - sarcopenia

KW - food choice

KW - body composition

KW - fat-free mass index

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KW - aging

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Protein Valuation in Food Choice Is Positively Associated with Lean Mass in Older Adults

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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