“Most people need more protein than the RDA says.”
Most healthy adults do not need more protein than the RDA of 0.36 gram per pound of body weight a day.
If you are a healthy adult at a steady weight and you do not do strength training, the protein in your normal meals is very likely enough, and you do not need to chase a higher number. Eating more protein makes the most sense when you are cutting calories or lifting weights. The new US Dietary Guidelines advise more for everyone, but that advice rests mostly on studies of people losing weight.
Skip buying protein products just to hit a higher number: about 65 grams a day covers the basic needs of a 180-pound adult, and the average American already eats more. If you are cutting calories or lifting, add a protein food to the meal that has the least.
Safety note: People with chronic kidney disease need a protein target set with their care team. Kidney nutrition guidelines give specific protein advice that depends on the stage of disease and whether a person is on dialysis. Expert advice for older adults says that people with severe kidney disease who are not on dialysis may need to limit protein.
Talk to a healthcare professional if: you have chronic kidney disease, are pregnant, or are losing weight or muscle without trying.
The RDA is set to cover nearly all healthy adults, and a review of 18 trials found that eating more than the RDA helped lean mass only in people cutting calories or strength training, not in people doing neither. Confidence is moderate because only seven comparisons tested people doing neither, and the trials were small and varied.
Most healthy adults do not need more protein than the RDA of 0.36 gram per pound of body weight a day. In a review of 18 trials, eating more than the RDA made no clear difference to lean mass in people who were not cutting calories or strength training. The grain of truth is that more protein does help a little in people who are cutting calories or lifting weights.
The RDA is the amount set to meet the needs of nearly all (97 to 98 percent) healthy adults; for a 180-pound adult, that is about 65 grams a day. It is not a bare minimum. On average, US adults already eat about 0.45 gram of protein per pound of body weight a day, roughly 15 percent of their calories, which is above the RDA. A small lab study using a tracer method estimates needs a little higher, up to about 0.55 gram per pound, and an expert group advises about 0.45 to 0.55 gram per pound for adults over 65; these measure short-term protein use, not muscle or health.
The 2025 to 2030 US Dietary Guidelines, released in January 2026, advise adults to eat about 0.55 to 0.7 gram of protein per pound of body weight a day, or about 100 to 130 grams for a 180-pound adult. The RDA and this new target answer different questions: the RDA is the amount that covers nearly everyone's basic needs, while the new target is meant to support weight control and overall health. The review behind the target looked at 30 trials, most of them in adults with overweight or obesity who were cutting calories, and on average it compared about 0.6 gram per pound with about 0.4. Trials had to test at least about 0.55 gram per pound to be included, and the ones included ranged from about 0.55 to 0.7, so the range reflects which trials were chosen more than a dose the trials found best. The two experts who wrote that review have received money from beef, pork and dairy groups. In a 2026 journal article, six nutrition scientists argued that evidence from weight-loss studies is not enough to support one protein target for all Americans.
Can eating more protein than the RDA help you keep or build muscle?
Yes, a little, but mainly in two situations. In a review of 18 trials, eating more than the RDA saved about 0.8 pound of lean mass in people cutting calories and added about 1.7 pounds in people doing strength training (a small set of 3 comparisons). In people doing neither, it made no clear difference.
- Hudson JL, Wang Y, Bergia RE III, Campbell WW. Protein Intake Greater than the RDA Differentially Influences Whole-Body Lean Mass Responses to Purposeful Catabolic and Anabolic Stressors: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Advances in Nutrition. 2020;11(3):548-558. DOI: 10.1093/advances/nmz106. PMID: 31794597. PMCID: PMC7231581
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium. Appendix J: Dietary Reference Intakes Summary Tables. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2019. DOI: 10.17226/25353
- U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030 (released January 7, 2026), with The Scientific Foundation for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030 and its Appendices (final 1.28.26), Appendix 4.9: Layman DK, Leidy HJ. Prioritize High Quality, Nutrient Dense Protein Foods as Part of a Healthy Dietary Pattern: Rapid Systematic Review (for Weight Management) and Narrative Review (for Nutrient Adequacy). ; https://cdn.realfood.gov/Scientific%20Report_508.pdf ; https://cdn.realfood.gov/Scientific%20Report%20Appendices_FINAL_1.28.26.pdf
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- Ikizler TA, Burrowes JD, Byham-Gray LD, et al. KDOQI Clinical Practice Guideline for Nutrition in CKD: 2020 Update. American Journal of Kidney Diseases. 2020;76(3 Suppl 1):S1-S107. DOI: 10.1053/j.ajkd.2020.05.006. PMID: 32829751