Age-related increases in intermuscular adipose tissue (IMAT) impair muscle quality, decrease functional capacity, and promote several cardiometabolic and inflammatory disorders. Whether these age-related alterations in muscle composition improve by consuming a high-protein (HP) diet with whole eggs are unclear. This parallel-design, randomized-controlled trial assessed the effects of a 12-week eucaloric HP diet with three whole eggs per day (1.4 g protein kg−1 day−1) versus a normal-protein diet void of eggs (NP, 0.8 g protein kg−1 day−1) on muscle composition (IMAT), cardiometabolic health, and systemic inflammation in older adults with overweight or obesity (12 men and 10 women; age 70 ± 5 years, BMI 31.3 ± 3.2 kg/m2, mean ± SD). No changes in muscle composition were observed over time, independent of protein intake. Total body weight was reduced in both groups (−3.3 ± 1.2%) and lean mass was preserved only with the HP diet. LDL concentration and hip circumference decreased only with the NP diet, while MCP-1 and HsCRP concentrations increased over time in both groups. A HP diet with whole eggs promotes lean mass retention with modest weight loss, but does not positively influence muscle composition, cardiometabolic health or systemic inflammation, compared to a NP diet void of eggs.

The results indicate that adults with elevated BP may effectively incorporate lean pork into a DASH-style diet for BP reduction.

Lower socioeconomic status (SES) is consistently related to higher obesity risk, especially in women living in developed countries such as the United States and Western Europe. Prevailing theories to describe this relationship have focused primarily on proximate level factors such as the generally poorer food environment (e.g. relative lack of healthy food options and higher concentrations of fast food restaurants) found in lower vs. higher SES neighborhoods and the higher financial costs associated with purchasing healthy, nutrient-dense foods compared to unhealthy, energy-dense foods. These factors are hypothesized to preclude the purchase of these foods by lower SES individuals. Unfortunately, public health interventions aimed at improving the food environment of lower SES communities and to provide financial resources for purchasing healthy foods have had limited success in reducing overall energy intake and body weight. Some evidence suggests these interventions may even exacerbate obesity. More recent hypotheses have shifted the focus to ultimate (or adaptive) factors that view increased energy intake and accrual of body fat among individuals of lower social status as adaptive strategies to protect against potential prolonged food scarcity. The purpose of this review is integrate past research at the proximate and ultimate levels with a consideration of how social status and SES during development (in utero through adolescence) may moderate the relationships between social status, eating behavior, and obesity. Utilizing an evolutionary framework that incorporates life history theory can lead to more integrative and thorough interpretations of past research and allow researchers to better elucidate the complex set of environmental, physiological, psychological, and behavioral factors that influence obesity risk among individuals of lower social status.