Rick Rosner On, 40: Protein Needs for Older Adults, Anabolic Resistance, Exercise, and Healthy Aging
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Personal SubStack
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2026/09/19
In this interview, Scott Douglas Jacobsen and Rick Rosner discuss protein requirements for older adults, age-related muscle loss, anabolic resistance, exercise, and nutrition. They correct the claim that all seniors need 2 grams per kilogram daily and examine practical protein targets, higher-protein foods, frailty, strength preservation, independence, and healthy aging.
Protein Requirements for Older Adults
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: That raises another subject. How much protein do older adults actually need?
Rick Rosner: I had been saying that seniors need about 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight every day. At around 140 pounds, or about 64 kilograms, that would be roughly 128 grams of protein a day. That is a tremendous amount.
But I should correct that. Two grams per kilogram is not the standard recommendation for most healthy older adults. ESPEN recommends at least 1.0 gram per kilogram per day for older adults, while expert groups commonly suggest around 1.0 to 1.2 grams per kilogram for healthy older people and roughly 1.2 to 1.5 grams for some older adults who are ill, frail, or otherwise at increased nutritional risk.
Higher intakes, approaching 1.6 to 2.0 grams per kilogram, are sometimes discussed for highly active older athletes or particular circumstances.
Protein Targets at Lower Body Weight
Jacobsen: So at your weight, the ordinary target would be considerably lower?
Rosner: Yes. At about 64 kilograms, 1.0 to 1.2 grams per kilogram would be roughly 64 to 77 grams of protein a day. If somebody had a medical reason for a higher target, that would be a separate question.
When I was younger, I thought about protein in terms of things like cans of tuna. Trying to get 120 or 130 grams every day feels like sitting down and forcing yourself to eat enormous quantities of protein, whether you want to or not.
The underlying concern is real, though. Older adults lose muscle mass and strength with age, and inadequate nutrition combined with inactivity can contribute to frailty, falls, and loss of independence.
Anabolic Resistance and Muscle Protein Synthesis
Jacobsen: Is that where anabolic resistance comes in?
Rosner: Yes. Anabolic resistance is real. It is a reduced muscle protein synthesis response to anabolic stimuli such as dietary protein and, in some contexts, exercise. Resistance exercise matters enormously. The solution is not simply to shovel protein into yourself all day.
High-Protein Foods, Marketing, and Practical Nutrition
Carole took me grocery shopping at Target one day, and protein has been jammed into increasingly ridiculous products. There are high-protein pastries, donuts, cereals, drinks, and things that would previously never have been marketed as protein foods.
Some of that is useful, some is marketing, and some probably tastes like industrial insulation.
But if higher-protein foods help me get enough protein while I keep exercising and maintaining muscle mass, fine. I would just no longer claim that every older person needs 2 grams per kilogram per day. That is much higher than the standard recommendation for most older adults.
Jacobsen: Thank you very much for the opportunity and your time, Rick.
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