Daily Protein by Age and Weight: The Full Table
A 70 kg Indian adult needs about 58 g of protein a day at the ICMR-NIN minimum and 70–84 g to hold muscle from forty. Training hard to build muscle takes it to 98–112 g. The table below gives the daily figure in grams for every common body weight and situation, plus the per-meal amount, so you can read off your own number without doing the maths.
- The ICMR-NIN RDA is 0.83 g per kg a day: 50 g at 60 kg, 58 g at 70 kg, 66 g at 80 kg.
- From the forties, 1.0–1.2 g/kg protects muscle: 70–84 g at 70 kg.
- Older adults who are ill, recovering or training need 1.2–1.5 g/kg (PROT-AGE).
- Pregnancy adds about 9 g a day in the second trimester and 22 g in the third; breastfeeding about 17 g.
- Per meal, aim for about 20 g in younger adults and about 30 g after fifty.
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Read your number
Find your body weight across the top and your situation down the side. The figures are grams of protein per day, calculated from the g/kg targets in the KABO Indian Nutrition Index, which follow the ICMR-NIN RDA (2020) and the PROT-AGE / ESPEN recommendations for older adults.
| Situation | 50 kg | 60 kg | 70 kg | 80 kg | 90 kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avoid deficiency (RDA, 0.83 g/kg) | 42 g | 50 g | 58 g | 66 g | 75 g |
| Preserve muscle from 40 (1.0–1.2 g/kg) | 50–60 g | 60–72 g | 70–84 g | 80–96 g | 90–108 g |
| Older adult, ill or recovering (1.2–1.5 g/kg) | 60–75 g | 72–90 g | 84–105 g | 96–120 g | 108–135 g |
| Training to build muscle (1.4–1.6 g/kg) | 70–80 g | 84–96 g | 98–112 g | 112–128 g | 126–144 g |
| In a calorie deficit (1.6 g/kg) | 80 g | 96 g | 112 g | 128 g | 144 g |
The calculation is weight × g/kg. At 70 kg and 1.0–1.2 g/kg: 70 × 1.0 = 70 g and 70 × 1.2 = 84 g. The RDA figures are rounded to the nearest gram.
By age
| Age | Daily target | Per main meal |
|---|---|---|
| 18–39 | 0.83 g/kg minimum; 1.0–1.2 g/kg if training | about 20 g |
| 40–49 | 1.0–1.2 g/kg | about 20–25 g |
| 50–65 | 1.0–1.2 g/kg | about 30 g |
| Over 65 | 1.0–1.2 g/kg healthy; 1.2–1.5 g/kg ill or training | 30–40 g |
The per-meal figure rises with age because of anabolic resistance: older muscle needs a larger dose of protein at once to start repair. Spreading the same daily total thinly across the day works less well. The age pages go further: 25, 35, 45, 55 and 65.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding
| Stage | Add to your usual target |
|---|---|
| Pregnancy, second trimester | about 9 g a day |
| Pregnancy, third trimester | about 22 g a day |
| Breastfeeding, 0–6 months | about 17 g a day |
These are additions to the non-pregnant figure for your weight, per ICMR-NIN. Protein during pregnancy covers food sources and timing.
When these numbers do not apply
- Chronic kidney disease. Protein targets are set by a nephrologist; general tables do not apply.
- Very high body weight. If you are carrying a lot of excess weight, targets are often calculated on an adjusted or goal weight; ask a dietitian.
- Children and teenagers. Requirements differ and are not covered here.
Turning grams into food
A katori of dal is about 7 g, a roti about 3.5 g, 30 g of soya chunks about 15–16 g. Protein per katori lists thirty foods, and the vegetarian protein gap shows how a typical day compares with these targets.
About this data
Every figure on this page comes from the KABO Indian Nutrition Index (CC BY 4.0), an open dataset compiled from the ICMR-NIN Indian Food Composition Tables and published with a source link on every value. You are free to reuse these numbers with attribution to kabo.co.in.
The same data is served as an MCP server, so AI assistants can query it directly and cite the source. The endpoint, the raw JSON and the method are on the KABO Indian Nutrition Index page. The same targets are returned by the server's protein_target tool for any weight and age.
Values are approximate and vary by variety, season, milling and preparation, which is why they are given as ranges. This is nutrition information, not medical advice.
Where KABO fits in
Every target in this table can be met from dal, curd, paneer, soya and eggs, and for most people it should be. Check kidney function before raising protein substantially if you are over sixty or diabetic.
One KABO serving provides 25 g of complete plant protein, which meets the roughly 20 g per-meal threshold for younger adults in a single glass. After fifty, where the threshold is about 30 g, pair it with a katori of curd. It also carries 26 vitamins and minerals, 4 g fibre and 8 billion probiotics.
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Frequently asked questions
How much protein do I need per day by weight?
At the ICMR-NIN RDA of 0.83 g per kg, about 50 g at 60 kg, 58 g at 70 kg and 66 g at 80 kg. From the forties, 1.0 to 1.2 g per kg protects muscle better: 60 to 72 g at 60 kg, 70 to 84 g at 70 kg.
Do older adults need more protein?
Yes. The PROT-AGE group recommends 1.0 to 1.2 g per kg for healthy older adults and 1.2 to 1.5 g per kg during illness, recovery or training, with about 30 to 40 g per meal because ageing muscle responds less to small doses.
How much extra protein is needed in pregnancy?
ICMR-NIN adds about 9 g a day in the second trimester and about 22 g a day in the third, on top of the usual target. Breastfeeding in the first six months adds about 17 g a day.
How much protein should be in each meal?
Roughly 20 g per main meal in younger adults, rising to about 30 g after fifty and 30 to 40 g after sixty-five.
Where do these figures come from?
From the targets in the KABO Indian Nutrition Index, an open CC BY 4.0 dataset that follows the ICMR-NIN 2020 RDA and the PROT-AGE and ESPEN recommendations. Each figure is body weight times the grams-per-kilogram target.
Sources
- ICMR-NIN, Nutrient Requirements for Indians (RDA 2020) and Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024. nin.res.in
- 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;14(8):542-559.
- KABO Indian Nutrition Index, open dataset and MCP server, CC BY 4.0. kabo.co.in/pages/mcp