Various sources of animal protein intake and their association with muscle mass index and insulin resistance in overweight postmenopausal women

Many epidemiological studies have observed a positive relationship between animal protein intake (API) and the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, animal proteins are important in the aging population. Forty sedentary and healthy postmenopausal women were recruited in this study. Body composition (dual X-ray absorptiometry method, DXA), 3-d dietary record (API) and insulin resistance (homeostasis model assessment, HOMA) were assessed. Partial correlations were used to examine the relationship between total API (g/day) on muscle mass index (MMI) and HOMA. MMI (r=0.408; p<0.01) was associated to total API. Our results indicate that promoting an increase in animal proteins is important to maintain muscle mass in postmenopausal women.