How much protein per day? Protein requirements with calculation examples
Do you want to know how much protein you really need? Then you have landed on the nutrient with the widest range of recommendations: there is approximately a factor of two between the official reference value and the amounts discussed in strength training. Both numbers have their place - they just answer different questions. One tells you what meets your needs. The other is when additional protein no longer contributes to building muscle.
The reference value: 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight
The German Nutrition Society (DGE) gives a reference value of 0.8 g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day for adults aged 19 to under 65 - in absolute numbers 57 g per day for men and 48 g per day for women. Important for classification: The value is intended to cover needs with a safety margin, not as a target for exercisers.
And there's a good chance you'll have reached it by now. The consumer advice center puts the actual intake in Germany at an average of 85 g daily for men and 64 g for women. Quarks converts the same observation to body weight and comes to around 1 g per kilogram for a 30-year-old woman weighing 70 kg and around 1.3 g per kilogram for a 30-year-old man weighing 80 kg. A deficit is therefore not an issue in the average population.
Why strength training shifts the number
If you train regularly with weights, the calculation looks different. The meta-analysis by Morton and colleagues from 2018 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine is often cited on this question - data from 49 studies with 1,863 participants were evaluated. The result of the work: Above a total protein intake of 1.62 g per kilogram of body weight per day, there were no further increases in fat-free mass through strength training. However, the 95 percent confidence interval around this transition point ranges from 1.03 to 2.20 g per kilogram. The spread is therefore considerable, which is why a range of up to 2.2 g per kilogram is often referred to instead of a single value.
In its position paper on protein intake in sport, the DGE arrives at similar magnitudes based on a different data base: For up to five hours of sport per week, the reference value of 0.8 g per kilogram per day still applies; for more than five hours of training per week, the paper states 1.2 to 2.0 g per kilogram per day. Quarks also refers to the assessment by the European Food Safety Authority, according to which there is no evidence of health risks for healthy, physically active people with an intake of up to around 1.6 g per kilogram per day - as long as the diet is overall balanced.
From the shop
ESN Designer Whey 2000 g – Protein / Egg White
Whey protein powder in a 2 kg container for everyone who has planned their shake.
To the product →Distribution over the day
Schoenfeld and Aragon summarized how much protein a single meal can contribute to building muscle in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition in 2018. A threshold of around 20 to 25 g of protein is often cited, above which muscle protein synthesis in young adults did not increase further in the underlying experiments. However, the authors classify: This value comes from experiments with quickly digestible proteins without other nutrients and cannot easily be transferred to mixed meals.
The two authors' derivation is therefore based on body weight: around 0.4 g per kilogram of body weight per meal, spread over at least four meals, to arrive at 1.6 g per kilogram per day. For a daily amount of 2.2 g per kilogram, they say a maximum of 0.55 g per kilogram and meal. With a body weight of 50 to 100 kg, the lower variant ends up in the range of 20 to 40 g per meal (example calculation from the values mentioned). The DGE provides admission for ambitious athletes