Most healthy adults need around 0.8–1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, depending mainly on activity level, age, and goals like muscle gain or weight loss.

Quick Scoop

  • For a generally healthy, sedentary adult, the baseline recommendation is about 0.8 g protein per kg of body weight per day (around 0.36 g per pound).
  • Many nutrition and sports experts suggest 1.0–1.6 g/kg per day if you are active, trying to build or maintain muscle, or dieting to lose fat while keeping muscle.
  • In calorie terms, protein usually makes up about 10–35% of daily calories for most adults (for a 2,000-calorie diet, that’s roughly 50–175 g protein per day).

What That Looks Like For You

  • If you weigh 60 kg (about 132 lb) and are mostly sedentary, a typical target is ~48 g protein per day (60 × 0.8).
  • The same 60 kg person who trains hard might reasonably aim for 60–95 g per day (1.0–1.6 g/kg).
  • A 75 kg (165 lb) sedentary adult often lands near 60 g/day, which many medical sources use as an example of the basic requirement.

Special Cases To Keep In Mind

  • Older adults (around 65+) are often advised to go higher, around 1.2–1.6 g/kg per day, to help maintain muscle and strength.
  • Athletes and people doing intense strength or endurance training frequently sit around 1.2–2.0 g/kg per day under professional guidance.
  • Very high long‑term intakes above 2 g/kg per day can be tolerable for some healthy people, but intakes above that for long periods may increase the risk of digestive or kidney issues and are usually not recommended without medical supervision.

Simple Rule Of Thumb

  • If you’re healthy and not very active: aim around 0.8 g/kg per day.
  • If you’re regularly active or lifting: aim around 1.0–1.6 g/kg per day.
  • If you have kidney disease, other chronic conditions, are pregnant, or are underweight, personalized advice from a doctor or dietitian is important before changing protein intake.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.