4.11. Limitations
Limitations of the present study include: (i) although two different amounts of beef were compared, this study lacked a non-beef comparison group; (ii) all participants self-identified as white American which is representative of the main racial group in South Dakota; (iii) no participants required support for daily living activities and lived independently in their own homes; (iv) South Dakota is a rural state. These limitations should be considered when generalizing outcomes from this study to diverse populations of older adults including those with differing demographic and ethnic backgrounds and living environments.