How much protein should you actually eat?

How much protein should I eat? Simplified.

All I hear is protein...protein...protein....BUT HOW MUCH should I eat George?

The UK government prescribes adults 0.75g protein per kg body weight per day; this equates to 56g/day and 45g/day for men and women of average body weights (75 and 60kg respectively).

THIS IS TOO LOW and encourages issues down the line, especially if you aren’t doing any strength training.

A higher protein intake has a direct correlation to not only your physical health, but your cognitive function too. A meta-analysis [1] confirmed that cognitive function and protein intake were significantly and positively correlated in all studies. Increasing protein intake, especially at breakfast and lunch, could mitigate age-related muscle loss.[2] Later in life this can help prevent the likelihood of falls, frailty and mortality.[3]

A second meta-analysis [4] highlights that protein ingestion of 1.6g of protein per kg per day or HIGHER leads to small increments in lean body mass, in combination with resistance training. You want to be growing your lean body mass throughout your life unless you’re already built, then it becomes about maintaining.

What does this look like in practice?

An 80kg male, 5’11, pretty active, he plays football 1x a week and gyms 2x a week so we can say he fits the ‘Medium Activity’ bracket.

Using my Base Metabolic Rate calculator under my ‘Nutrition tab’, this means our example would need to consume around 2800 calories per day to maintain his weight, BUT how much protein, to maintain and grow muscle? Multiply his bodyweight by 1.6. (80x1.6=128g of protein) for optimal growth.

[1] Coelho-Júnior, H.J., Calvani, R., Landi, F., Picca, A. and Marzetti, E., 2021. Protein intake and cognitive function in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrition and metabolic insights, 14, p.11786388211022373.

[2] Smeuninx B, Greig CA and Breen L (2020) Amount, Source and Pattern of Dietary Protein Intake Across the Adult Lifespan: A Cross-Sectional Study. Front. Nutr. 7:25. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2020.00025

[3] Goodpaster BH, Park SW, Harris TB, Kritchevsky SB, Nevitt M, Schwartz AV, et al. The loss of skeletal muscle strength, mass, and quality in older adults: the health, aging and body composition study. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. (2006) 61:1059–64. doi: 10.1093/gerona/61.10.1059

[4] Nunes, E.A., Colenso‐Semple, L., McKellar, S.R., Yau, T., Ali, M.U., Fitzpatrick‐Lewis, D., Sherifali, D., Gaudichon, C., Tomé, D., Atherton, P.J. and Robles, M.C., 2022. Systematic review and meta‐analysis of protein intake to support muscle mass and function in healthy adults. Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle, 13(2), pp.795-810.