What happened
Both groups gained strength (leg press, chair stands) and muscle mass, with no difference in strength or function between them. The standard-diet group ate more total protein (1.58 vs 1.24 g/kg a day) and gained slightly more muscle (0.66 vs 0.38 kg).
Coverage appeared 3 November 2026; the paper is in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (PubMed PMID 42772454).
Why it matters
The question was whether a mostly plant diet holds older adults back from getting stronger. The answer is reassuring: it did not stop them. But because the groups did not eat the same total amount of protein, the trial cannot say plant protein performs equally gram for gram.
What comes next
A trial that matches total protein exactly would settle the gram-for-gram question. For now, the practical message is about the total: older adults who train and eat enough protein get stronger, whatever its source.
12 weeks, 108 people; the groups did not eat the same total amount of protein, so plant protein cannot be said to perform equally gram for gram. What it does show: eating mostly plant protein did not stop people getting stronger.