18 Mar 2010 --- The Nestlé Research Center, Lausanne, Switzerland, announces a major collaboration with some of the world’s leading institutes in physical performance and sports nutrition research. Scientists from RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia; McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada; and the Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra, Australia; in collaboration with Nestlé Research scientists will launch a major investigation on the synergistic effect of nutrition and exercise to positively impact the quality and quantity of muscle mass, in both young and ageing adults.

The collaboration, supported by a linkage grant from the Australian Research Council (ARC), entails several comprehensive clinical trials assessing optimal protein and exercise regimes for maintaining skeletal muscle in healthy adults in conditions of negative energy balance (e.g weight loss), and also for preventing the accentuated muscle loss that typically occurs during ageing. Maintaining an optimal body composition (including adequate muscle mass) throughout the lifespan can greatly enhance general physical performance and the overall quality of life.

Besides the strength of these clinical trials and their potential outcomes, this collaboration represents four robust research institutions from around the world combining their unique expertise for a truly complementary and synergistic partnership. Each institution brings individual competencies and perspectives without which would render the full scope of this research impossible.

“The cutting-edge research methodologies that will be used in these human clinical trials can only be done in select places in the world,” said Dr. Trent Stellingwerff, Nestlé Research scientist involved in the project. “And with each partner bringing different expertise to the collaboration, this advantage allowed us not only to earn the ARC grant, but also to
anticipate collecting novel data from these collaborative studies.”

The results of these studies will be highly relevant for Nestlé to provide functional approaches for consumers that help maintain muscle mass and strength during periods of risk such as weight loss and ageing.