This course is included in the NUTRITION 2026 On Demand Collection.

Experts have debated for decades how much protein we need. The newly released 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which are food recommendations designed to meet all nutrient requirements, prioritizes protein at every eating occasion and recommends a healthy range of protein of 1.2-1.6 g/kg/day. The establishment of this range and the translation to animal and plant source protein food serving recommendations was based on optimizing weight management and nutrient density of the diet for health promotion and disease prevention.

This range differs from the Recommended Dietary Allowance for adults aged 19 years and above for protein, set in 2005, which is 0.8 g/kg/day based on achieving nitrogen equilibrium. A recent systematic review conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), commissioned by the Joint Canada-United States DRI Working Group, was designed to review and synthesize evidence published on human protein requirements between 2000 and 2024, which could inform a future assessment of the protein DRI recommendation. The AHRQ systematic review identified limited new studies published in 2000-2024 examining protein and indispensable amino acid requirements across the lifecycle.

This session will cover the different aims, approaches, and methodology used to develop the DRIs and DGAs and how researchers, clinicians, and policymakers should incorporate these resources when providing dietary guidance or developing policies related to protein nutrition.

Originally presented at NUTRITION 2026, ASN's flagship meeting which was held July 25-28 in National Harbor, MD

Speakers

Stephanie A. Atkinson, PhD
McMaster University

Teresa A. Davis, PhD, DFASN, FASAS
Texas A&M AgriLife Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture

Naomi K. Fukagawa, MD, PhD
University of Vermont

Heather J. Leidy, PhD
The University of Texas at Austin

Daniel Tomé, PhD
Agroparistech/Université Paris-Saclay