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Protein: the daily reference intake
EFSA sets the adult protein reference intake at 0.83 grams per kilogram of body weight per day. For a 70 kg adult that is about 58 g. Pregnancy and breastfeeding add a defined number of grams on top.
These are published population reference values, not a diagnosis and not a prescription. A reference intake describes what covers a healthy group; it cannot tell you your own status, and no page can. Pregnancy, chronic illness, medicines and malabsorption all change the picture — take those questions to a doctor, midwife, pharmacist or dietitian.
The requirement at different body weights
Protein is the one reference intake that is not a fixed number of grams: EFSA expresses it per kilogram of body weight, so the daily figure follows your size. The child values run a little higher per kilogram than the adult 0.83 and converge on it by about 18 years; they are not reproduced here.
| Body weight | Adult reference | Third trimester | Breastfeeding, first 6 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 kg | 41.5 g a day | 69.5 g a day | 60.5 g a day |
| 60 kg | 49.8 g a day | 77.8 g a day | 68.8 g a day |
| 70 kg | 58.1 g a day | 86.1 g a day | 77.1 g a day |
| 80 kg | 66.4 g a day | 94.4 g a day | 85.4 g a day |
| 90 kg | 74.7 g a day | 103 g a day | 93.7 g a day |
| 100 kg | 83 g a day | 111 g a day | 102 g a day |
Your own figure
JavaScript is off, so use the table above — it is computed on the server from the same 0.83 g/kg figure.
Protein by age, sex and life stage
| Group | Reference value | Type | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men 19-50 | 0.83 g/kg | PRI | g per kg body weight per day |
| Women 19-50 | 0.83 g/kg | PRI | g per kg body weight per day |
| Men 51 and over | 0.83 g/kg | PRI | g per kg body weight per day |
| Women 51 and over | 0.83 g/kg | PRI | g per kg body weight per day |
| Adults 65 and over | 0.83 g/kg | PRI | EFSA sets no separate value for older adults |
Why protein is per kilogram, not per person
Almost every other reference intake on this site is a flat number: 950 mg of calcium, 15 micrograms of vitamin D. Protein is different because the requirement scales with lean tissue, and lean tissue scales with body size. EFSA derived 0.83 g/kg from nitrogen balance studies as the Population Reference Intake — the amount that covers the needs of 97.5 per cent of healthy adults. The Average Requirement behind it is 0.66 g/kg.
That makes the arithmetic yours: multiply your weight in kilograms by 0.83. A 55 kg adult lands near 46 g a day, a 90 kg adult near 75 g. The table further down does that for a range of weights so you do not have to.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding are additions, not multipliers
EFSA adds a fixed number of grams per day on top of the woman own pre-pregnancy requirement: about 1 g in the first trimester, 9 g in the second and 28 g in the third. Breastfeeding adds about 19 g a day during the first six months of exclusive feeding and about 13 g a day after that.
Notice how small the first-trimester figure is. The popular idea that pregnancy roughly doubles the protein need does not survive contact with the published numbers; the increase is real but it is concentrated in the last three months.
What the label percentage means
European labels use a single reference intake of 50 g of protein a day for the "% RI" figure, from Annex XIII of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011. That number is deliberately a rounded population reference for labelling, not a personal target: at 0.83 g/kg it corresponds to a person of about 60 kg. If you weigh 85 kg, a pack that says "40% of your reference intake" is really covering nearer 28 per cent of yours.
Older adults: the number the expert groups argue about
EFSA keeps 0.83 g/kg for adults of every age. Several clinical expert groups — the PROT-AGE study group and the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism among them — have argued that healthy older adults do better nearer 1.0 to 1.2 g/kg because of anabolic resistance and the muscle loss that follows illness or immobility. That is a recommendation from clinical consensus, not an EFSA reference value, and this site keeps the two apart.
The upper level
EFSA has not set a tolerable upper intake level for protein. That is not a licence for unlimited intake — it means the evidence was not sufficient to define a threshold.
Ordinary food against a 70 kg adult at 0.83 g per kilogram
Top of this list: Chicken breast, 37.2 g in a 120 g serving (a breast) — 64% of a 70 kg adult at 0.83 g per kilogram. It would take about 2 of those to cover a full day from that one food, which is why a real diet spreads it across several rows.
| Food | Ordinary portion | Per portion | Share of the day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken breast | a breast, 120 g | 37.2 g | 64% |
| Salmon | a fillet, 120 g | 30.5 g | 52% |
| Ground beef | a portion, 120 g | 30.1 g | 52% |
| Chicken thigh | a thigh, 120 g | 29.8 g | 51% |
| Cod | a fillet, 130 g | 29.6 g | 51% |
| Boneless pork chop | a chop, 120 g | 29.6 g | 51% |
| Mackerel | a fillet, 120 g | 28.7 g | 49% |
| Trout | a fillet, 120 g | 28.6 g | 49% |
| Soybeans | a portion, cooked, 150 g | 27.3 g | 47% |
| Canned sockeye salmon | half a tin, 100 g | 23.6 g | 41% |
| Veal liver | a small portion, 100 g | 19.9 g | 34% |
| Canned tuna | a small tin, drained, 100 g | 19.4 g | 33% |
Portion sizes are ordinary household servings chosen for this table, not official reference portions, and the shortlist is an editorial one: everyday foods eaten in this region rather than the highest per-100 g entries in the database. A raw per-100 g ranking would be topped by dried herbs, drink powders and fortified breakfast cereals, which answers a different question. The composition data is American, so where US fortification practice differs from European practice the row carries a dagger and the reason. For the full per-100 g ranking of a nutrient, the food-data section of this site publishes one.
Protein for one group at a time
Sources: EFSA Dietary Reference Values · Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex XIII · USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy (food composition) · EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies, scientific opinion on dietary reference values for protein (2012) · Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex XIII · checked 2026-09-06
Frequently asked questions
How much protein do I need a day?
EFSA reference intake for adults is 0.83 g per kilogram of body weight per day. Multiply your weight in kilograms by 0.83: 60 kg gives about 50 g, 80 kg about 66 g.
Is the 50 g on the packet my protein target?
No. The 50 g is the labelling reference intake in EU Regulation 1169/2011, used so every pack in Europe divides by the same number. Your own figure comes from your body weight.
Do older adults need more protein?
EFSA keeps the same 0.83 g/kg at every adult age. Clinical expert groups have proposed 1.0 to 1.2 g/kg for healthy older adults; that is a clinical consensus position rather than a reference value, and anyone with kidney disease should take protein advice from their own clinician.
See your own numbers, not the population average
TempoLife logs what you eat and adds it up, so you can compare a real week against the reference intake on this page instead of guessing.