Egg Cholesterol Consumption, Blood Cholesterol and Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy

The primary objective of this proposal is to have 36 men and women (age 50-69) perform 12 weeks of resistance exercise training for the purpose of inducing skeletal muscle hypertrophy. These individuals will consume either 0, 1, or 3 whole eggs per day in a double-blind design to test the hypothesis that dietary cholesterol is essential for skeletal muscle hypertrophy. If so proven, this will confirm a very strong association between dietary cholesterol and hypertrophy observed in a previous study of 51 men and women (age 60-69). The current proposal is using a randomized double-blind, placebo controlled design to provide the most conclusive evidence that dietary cholesterol plays an essential role in skeletal muscle hypertrophy. The secondary objective of this proposal is to test the hypothesis that increased dietary cholesterol consumption in the context of an exercise program does not alter blood cholesterol concentrations or other cardiovascular risk factors.