The Claim

Resistance training increases midtendon cross-sectional area in older women, and higher protein intake (1.4 g/kg/d) is associated with a greater increase, though the difference between protein intake groups does not reach statistical significance when analyzed separately.

Source: Greater Protein Intake Emphasizing Lean Beef Does Not Affect Resistance Training-Induced Adaptations in Skeletal Muscle and Tendon of Older Women: A Randomized Controlled Feeding Trial

What the research says

Supports is higher

Support is ahead, but a single strong opposing study can change this.

Supports
69score
Challenges
0score

These are independent scores, not a percentage. Higher-grade studies count more, so a single strong opposing study can outweigh several weaker ones.

Cause and effect
1 study reviewed
In plain English

Older women who do resistance training experience an increase in the thickness of their tendon tissue, and those who consume 1.4 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day show a larger increase, but the difference between protein intake levels is not statistically detectable in separate group comparisons.

See the scientific wording

Resistance training increases midtendon cross-sectional area in older women, and this increase is more pronounced in those consuming higher protein intake (1.4 g/kg/d), though the difference does not reach statistical significance when groups are analyzed separately.

Why this might work

When older women perform resistance training, the tendons in their legs experience repeated pulling forces. This pulling activates cells in the tendon to make more collagen, the main structural protein in tendons. Eating more protein, especially from sources rich in glycine and proline, provides the raw materials these cells need to build new collagen. The combination of mechanical stress and increased amino acid supply causes the tendon to thicken over time.

Verified mechanismbased on 1 study

What the research says

1 study

  1. Study: Greater Protein Intake Emphasizing Lean Beef Does Not Affect Resistance Training-Induced Adaptations in Skeletal Muscle and Tendon of Older Women: A Randomized Controlled Feeding Trial

    Strength training made the tendon in the knee thicker in older women, and eating more protein didn’t make it get much thicker than normal protein, but it stopped the tendon from getting thinner like it did in the low-protein group. So, protein might help a little, but we can’t say for sure.

Score breakdown, mechanism chain, raw evidence, ideal studies needed & 1 supporting studies

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