How Much Protein Do You Need a Day? The UK Reference Intake

UK adults are advised 0.75 g of protein per kilogram of body weight a day, about 45 g for a woman and 55.5 g for a man; the 50 g on food labels is an average, not a target. Trials and position papers use higher bands for people who train (1.4 to 2.0 g/kg) and adults over 65 (1.0 to 1.2 g/kg), with worked examples below.^{1, 3, 5, 10} The Wellgard guide to vegan protein sources covers the plant foods.

How much protein do adults need a day in the UK?

The UK dietary reference value for protein is 0.75 g per kilogram of body weight a day for adults, set in the 1991 Dietary Reference Values report and carried in the government's dietary recommendations (2016) as 55.5 g a day for men and 45 g for women aged 19 to 64, and 53.3 g and 46.5 g from 65.¹ SACN, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, now advises the government on these recommendations; its predecessor COMA set the protein figure.² A reference value covers nearly everyone's needs; it is not where training or ageing trials stopped seeing benefit.

The 50 g on food labels is the reference intake in Annex XIII of the retained food information regulation, a labelling figure for an average adult.³ The NHS advice is to "eat some beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other protein", because "these foods are all good sources of protein, which is essential for the body to grow and repair itself" (page reviewed 30 June 2026).⁴ The NHS sets no personal protein figure, and nor does this page.

How do you work out your protein by body weight?

Multiply your weight in kilograms by the figure for your situation: the reference value, the over-65 band of the ageing position papers, or the band the sports-nutrition position stand gives people who train.^{1, 5, 10, 11} There is no weight-loss column; that evidence is reported below as findings.

Two cautions. Well above a healthy weight, the arithmetic overstates need, because lean tissue rather than fat drives it; a 2025 US advisory says actual weight "can significantly overestimate protein requirements", with "still no consensus" on using actual weight, an adjusted weight or fat-free mass, so a dietitian may use an adjusted weight.⁸ And with a medical condition, the government document says, consult your GP or a registered dietitian.¹

Do you need more protein if you train?

The International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand puts most exercising adults at 1.4 to 2.0 g/kg a day.⁵ The pooled trials say where extra protein stops paying. Morton 2018, 49 trials in 1,863 adults doing resistance training: protein supplementation added 2.49 kg to one-repetition-maximum strength and 0.30 kg to fat-free mass, with no further gain in fat-free mass above about 1.6 g/kg a day.⁶ Nunes 2022, 74 trials: a small lean-mass gain with higher protein during resistance exercise (standardised mean difference 0.22, moderate evidence), significant in under-65s at 1.6 g/kg or more; lower-body strength slightly higher at that intake (low evidence); handgrip strength unclear.⁷ The GB register's authorised wording is that protein contributes to a growth in muscle mass; a food may carry it when at least 12% of its energy comes from protein.⁹ Total first, source second: how quality is scored is on what is a complete protein.

Do you need more protein as you get older?

The government figure barely changes from 65 (53.3 g for men, 46.5 g for women), but two expert groups recommend more.¹ PROT-AGE recommends at least 1.0 to 1.2 g/kg a day over 65, 1.2 g/kg or more for those who exercise, and 1.2 to 1.5 g/kg for most older adults with acute or chronic disease; ESPEN gives the same bands plus daily exercise.^{10, 11} One reason: older men (about 71) needed about 0.40 g/kg of protein in one meal to reach the plateau of muscle protein synthesis that younger men (about 22) reached at 0.24 g/kg.¹² In Nunes 2022 the lean-mass effect in over-65s was significant at 1.2 to 1.59 g/kg a day.⁷ PROT-AGE names one exception: older people with severe kidney disease (estimated GFR under 30) who are not on dialysis "may need to limit protein intake"; your renal team sets that figure.¹⁰ The register's wording is that protein contributes to the maintenance of muscle mass and to the maintenance of normal bones, under the same source-of-protein condition.⁹ Bone density is on can you rebuild bone density.

How much protein per meal, and does timing matter?

About 25 to 30 g a meal, about 0.4 g/kg (28 g at 70 kg) from 65. In a 7-day crossover study of 8 adults, part-funded by the beef industry, about 30 g at each of breakfast, lunch and dinner gave a 24-hour muscle protein synthesis rate 25% higher than the same total skewed to dinner.¹³ In 1,081 US adults aged 50 to 85, one or two meals a day with 30 g or more of protein was associated with greater leg lean mass and strength, levelling off at about 30 to 45 g a meal; observational, not a trial.¹⁴ "The body can only absorb 30 g" misreads this: the studies measured the muscle response to one meal over a few hours, not digestion. What 25 to 30 g looks like in food is on foods high in protein.

Do you need more protein when eating less?

A little, and the effect is modest. Wycherley 2012 pooled 24 trials in 1,063 adults on energy-restricted diets of about 12 weeks: against a standard-protein diet, the higher-protein diets kept 0.43 kg more fat-free mass (95% CI 0.09 to 0.78 kg).¹⁵ These were diets, not medicines; protein when appetite is much reduced has its own page.

How much protein do women, and pregnant women, need?

The same 0.75 g/kg: 45 g a day for women aged 19 to 64 and 46.5 g from 65; the training and over-65 bands are per kilogram and apply as written.^{1, 5, 10} The 1991 report set a small additional amount for pregnancy and breastfeeding, which the 2016 summary does not carry; how much extra is a midwife or GP conversation. Powders are on protein powder for women.

Can you eat too much protein?

Not at the intakes above, for healthy kidneys, on the trial evidence. Devries 2018 pooled 28 randomised trials in 1,358 adults without kidney disease, comparing higher-protein intakes (1.5 g/kg, 20% of energy or 100 g a day and above) with lower or normal intakes: the change in glomerular filtration rate did not differ (standardised mean difference 0.11, not significant).¹⁶ The 2025 advisory adds that prolonged intakes above 2 g/kg a day should be avoided and that intake should not fall below 0.4 to 0.5 g/kg.⁸ With kidney disease, your figure comes from your GP or renal dietitian, not a table.

Frequently asked questions

How much protein do I need to build muscle?

The sports-nutrition band is 1.4 to 2.0 g/kg a day; the 49-trial pooling found no further gain in fat-free mass above about 1.6 g/kg.^{5, 6} The training does the building.

Is 100 g of protein a day too much?

For an 80 kg adult who trains it is 1.25 g/kg, just below the 1.4 to 2.0 g/kg band; for a 60 kg adult who does not, 1.7 g/kg, well above the 45 g reference, and the kidney trials in healthy adults found no change in filtration rate at 100 g a day or more.^{1, 16}

How much protein should I eat per meal?

About 25 to 30 g, from one beef-industry part-funded study of eight adults, and about 0.4 g/kg after 65 (28 g at 70 kg).^{12, 13}

Do vegans need more protein?

The same 0.75 g/kg; pulse- and grain-led diets sit a little higher within their band because those proteins are digested less completely than soya, egg or milk protein. The foods are on how much protein vegans need.

Do I need a protein powder to reach my target?

A protein powder is a food of about 20 g a serving; when a meal cannot carry 25 to 30 g, it is one route to the day's total. Labels are explained on is vegan protein powder healthy.

Sources

1. Public Health England. Government dietary recommendations, August 2016; protein figures from COMA's 1991 Dietary Reference Values report. Read 11 October 2026. gov.uk.
2. Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN): about the committee. Read 11 October 2026. gov.uk.
3. Retained Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex XIII Part B, reference intakes (protein 50 g). Read 11 October 2026. legislation.gov.uk.
4. NHS. Eating a balanced diet. Reviewed 30 June 2026. nhs.uk.
5. Jäger R, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: protein and exercise. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2017. PubMed 28642676.
6. Morton RW, et al. A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2018. PubMed 28698222.
7. Nunes EA, et al. Systematic review and meta-analysis of protein intake to support muscle mass and function in healthy adults. Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle, 2022. PubMed 35187864.
8. Mozaffarian D, et al. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2025 (joint advisory of four US clinical societies). PubMed 40450457.
9. Great Britain nutrition and health claims (NHC) register: protein claims (rows 169, 171, 173) and the source-of-protein condition. Register dated 19 May 2026, read 11 October 2026. gov.uk.
10. Bauer J, et al. Evidence-based recommendations for optimal dietary protein intake in older people: a position paper from the PROT-AGE Study Group. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 2013. PubMed 23867520.
11. Deutz NE, et al. Protein intake and exercise for optimal muscle function with aging: recommendations from the ESPEN Expert Group. Clinical Nutrition, 2014. PubMed 24814383.
12. Moore DR, et al. Protein ingestion to stimulate myofibrillar protein synthesis requires greater relative protein intakes in healthy older versus younger men. Journals of Gerontology Series A, 2015. PubMed 25056502.
13. Mamerow MM, et al. Dietary protein distribution positively influences 24-h muscle protein synthesis in healthy adults. Journal of Nutrition, 2014. Part-funded by the beef industry. PubMed 24477298.
14. Loenneke JP, et al. Per meal dose and frequency of protein consumption is associated with lean mass and muscle performance. Clinical Nutrition, 2016. PubMed 27086196.
15. Wycherley TP, et al. Effects of energy-restricted high-protein, low-fat compared with standard-protein, low-fat diets: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2012. PubMed 23097268.
16. Devries MC, et al. Changes in kidney function do not differ between healthy adults consuming higher- compared with lower- or normal-protein diets: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Nutrition, 2018. PubMed 30383278.

General information, not medical advice.