Perspectives on Diet and Exercise Interaction for Healthy Aging: Opportunities to Reduce Malnutrition Risk and Optimize Fitness

The combination of nutrition and exercise plays a pivotal role in counteracting the effects of ageing, promoting health, and improving physical fitness in older adults. However, the high prevalence of malnutrition in this population is a critical challenge, often un-derestimated in scientific research. This perspective report examines the interplay be-tween dietary intake and exercise, focusing on their combined potential to preserve muscle mass, cognitive function, and overall health and quality of life. A significant gap in the literature lies in the frequent neglect of dietary intake when designing exercise interventions for older adults and vice versa. This omission may limit the effectiveness of such programs, highlighting the need for a more integrated approach. Additionally, ensuring adequate nutritional requirements—particularly protein, essen-tial amino acids, and micronutrients—is crucial for supporting the physiological demands of exercise and preventing sarcopenia and malnutrition. Recent advances in supple-mentation strategies, such as omega-3 fatty acids, creatine, and essential amino acids, are explored alongside emerging research on the gut microbiota’s role in mediating exercise and nutrition benefits. Despite these developments, questions remain regarding optimal dosages, timing, and individual responses to supplementation and exercise regimens. Finally, our study underscores the importance of personalized approaches tailored to the specific health objectives, sex differences, gut microbiota diversity and composition and baseline conditions of older adults. By addressing these gaps, future research can better inform integrated strategies that maximize the benefits of nutrition and exercise, fostering healthy and active ageing.