Date of Graduation

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Biology

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Biological Sciences

Advisor/Mentor

Dr. Jamie Baum

Committee Member

Dr. Faith Lessner

Second Committee Member

Dr. Yuchun Du

Third Committee Member

Dr. Jamie Baum

Fourth Committee Member

Marc Mitchell

Abstract

By 2030, it is projected that the number of post-menopausal women globally will reach 1.2 billion. Moreover, because of increases in life expectancy, women will spend a greater proportion of their later years at elevated risk of chronic disease associated with the hormonal changes of the menopausal transition. Dietary interventions, specifically high-protein diets have shown potential mitigating effects; however, most interventions have focused on total protein intake or protein supplements, not whole foods like lean beef. This randomized controlled trial aimed to assess the effects of daily lean beef consumption as part of a higher protein diet on cardiometabolic markers and body composition of post-menopausal women (N = 29). Participants were assigned to either a control diet (< 0.8 g protein/kg body; n = 20) or a high-protein-with-beef diet (1.6 g protein/kg of body weight with 100 g lean beef/day; n = 9). Outcomes included lean mass, fat mass, android fat percentage, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and fasting blood glucose. Independent sample t-tests were used to compare mean changes between the beef and control groups for all outcome measures. Two-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess the differences in secondary outcome measures between the two groups over 16 weeks. There were no significant results for lean mass, fat mass, or android fat percentage, but lean mass showed increasing trends in the beef group. There were no significant results for systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, or lipid profile, although LDL showed a nonsignificant decreasing trend in the beef group. Although the difference in lean mass and other cardiometabolic markers were not statistically significant, the direction of change suggests potential benefits worth exploring with more robust studies with larger sample sizes and trial durations to better understand the impact of lean beef on healthy aging.

Keywords

postmenopause; beef; dietary intervention; lean mass; cardiometabolic health; nutrition; health

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