Plant-based Diet in Older People: What Consequences for Muscle Health?

This randomized, controlled, two-arm clinical study aims to determine how increasing the proportion of plant-based foods in the diet affects skeletal muscle strength, mass and function, protein metabolism, microbiota and key metabolic markers in healthy older men and women. We hypothesize that diets enriched with animal-based foods will maintain maximal quadriceps strength-the primary outcome of the study-more effectively after the 3-month nutritional intervention than plant-based diets. Proteomic analyses will be performed to identify molecular mechanisms and potential muscle biomarkers reflecting metabolic adaptations of skeletal muscle to plant-enriched diets. In addition, metabolic health markers and micronutrient status will be evaluated to better understand the overall health effects of dietary plant-based transition in older adults.

NCT Number	NCT07681986
Lead Sponsor	University Hospital, Clermont-Ferrand Collaborators: Centre de Recherche en Nutrition Humaine d'Auvergne, Université d'Auvergne, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement
Conditions	Aging
Enrollment	60 participants
Start Date	2026-07-20
Primary Completion	2029-08 (estimated)
Study Completion	2030-08 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-07-02