Protein & Nutrition Blog – Marmels

Bar chart of daily protein in grams per kilogram: the RDA 0.8, average U.S. women 1.1 and men 1.3 aged 40 to 60, research target after 40 at 1.4 and 1.54 for sarcopenia

Protein & Nutrition Blog – Marmels

How Much Protein Do You Need After 40?

by Mo Mandegar, PhD on Sep 22 2026
The nutrition label prints one protein number for everyone: a Daily Value of 50 grams. After 40, the research points somewhere else entirely, 1.2 to 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight, which is 82 to 109 grams a day for a 150-pound adult. Here is why aging muscle needs a larger signal, and where the shortfall actually sits in a normal day.
Bar chart of daily protein targets in grams for a 150-pound woman by goal, from 54 g to avoid deficiency to 129 g for fat loss while keeping muscle

Protein & Nutrition Blog – Marmels

How Much Protein Do Women Need? What the Research Says

by Mo Mandegar, PhD on Jun 04 2026
Most protein research was built around men, and women inherited numbers that were never really theirs. Current studies suggest most active women need 1.2 to 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram daily, far above the 0.8-gram minimum, with needs climbing in midlife. Here is how much you actually need, by activity and life stage, and how to close the gap.