Une nouvelle stratégie nutritionnelle pour lutter contre la dénutrition et la sarcopénie : le régime protéique pulsé

Sarcopenia is a major cause of increased dependence, falls, illness and death in elderly persons. Malnutrition, which is frequent in hospital settings, worsens sarcopenia. The causes of this effect are multiple, but preventive measures exist. These are essentially physical resistance exercise and dietary strategies, both qualitative (provision of amino acids involved in protein synthesis) and quantitative (greater amounts of protein or improved bioavailability of amino acids after a meal either by using “fast” proteins or through protein chrononutrition, also called pulsed protein diet or more simply senior diet). Pulsed protein diet is a new nutritional strategy supplying 75% of daily protein intake in the midday meal. It has shown its efficacy for lean weight gain in a prospective randomized trial. This new strategy preserves a familiar meal pattern and prioritizes traditional tastes and foods. It was adopted by the National Diet Programme in 2010. This novel approach breaks new ground in the nutritional care of elderly persons, and is currently being implemented in geriatric centres. Its long-term efficacy on health and life expectancy needs to be tested in a large-scale clinical trial.