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Protein Calculator: How Much Protein a Day, on Malaysia’s RNI
How much protein do I need, on Malaysia’s own number? This protein intake calculator works out your daily protein requirement on the Ministry of Health’s Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI, 2017), 1.00 g per kg of body weight a day, at your weight, shows the other published references beside it, then lets you tick Malaysian servings from the Ministry’s food table to see how a day adds up.
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Enter your weight on the left. The Malaysian RNI at that weight appears here, with the other published references beside it.
This calculator is for adults aged 19 and over. For children and adolescents, the Ministry of Health’s RNI gives fixed grams by age band (protein chapter, printed pages 62 to 63), and this page computes nothing for them.
The Malaysian RNI at your weight
– g a day
- –WHO/FAO/UNU 2007 safe level (0.83 g/kg)
- –Malaysia RNI 2017 (1.00 g/kg)
- –RNI text: top of 1.0 to 1.5 (1.5 g/kg)
- –Resistance training, Morton 2018 (about 1.6 g/kg)
What that looks like on a Malaysian plate
Tick servings from the Ministry’s food table and watch the total move toward the RNI figure. These are table servings, not a meal plan.
Protein from the servings you ticked
The plate
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Nasi lemak
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Nasi ayam
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Mee goreng
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Roti canai
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Roti telur
The side order
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Hen egg
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Ayam goreng
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Chicken satay
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Ikan kembong masak kicap
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Tau-kua
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Tempeh
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Soya bean milk, unsweetened
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Yellow dhal gravy
MyFCD’s cooked-dish rows were analysed decades ago (the database’s footer is dated 1997) from sampled stalls, and a plate today may be larger. Energy per serving is in small type. The MyFCD code beside each row is the table’s own.
Habitus Mind’s Fitness module keeps a daily protein target and a quick-log. Create a free account.
How this works
- The RNI at your weight. Malaysia’s Recommended Nutrient Intake for adults is 1.00 g of protein per kg of body weight a day, so the figure is your weight in kg, shown to the nearest gram (Ministry of Health Malaysia, 2017). The document prints 62 g for men aged 19 to 29, which is its own rounding of the 61.4 kg reference weight; this page shows 61. For adults over 60 the figure stays 1.00 g per kg, and the document discusses 1.0 to 1.2 g per kg as a compromise for older adults while longer trials are pending.
- The other marks. 0.83 g per kg is the WHO/FAO/UNU 2007 safe level the RNI text cites. 1.5 g per kg is the top of the consensus line in the same text, that 1.0 to 1.5 g per kg may confer health benefits. About 1.6 g per kg is where a pooled analysis of 49 studies of resistance training found no further gain in fat-free mass from protein supplementation, at a total intake of 1.62 g per kg (Morton et al., 2018, abstract). The RNI text identifies no upper limit and advises caution at 3 to 4 times the safe intake.
- The plate list. Each serving is a row of MyFCD, with protein per serving worked out as protein per 100 g times the serving weight. The list is the one in the post behind this page.
Questions
How do I calculate how much protein I need?
Multiply your body weight in kilograms by 1.00, Malaysia’s Recommended Nutrient Intake for adults (2017). At 70 kg that is 70 g a day. This page also shows the 0.83 g per kg safe level and the 1.0 to 1.5 g per kg consensus line beside it.
How much protein a day for a 70 kg person?
At the Malaysian RNI of 1.00 g per kg, 70 g. At the older 0.83 g per kg safe level, 58 g. At about 1.6 g per kg (1.62 in the study), the point past which a 2018 analysis of resistance training found no further gain, about 113 g.
Is 100 g of protein a day too much?
It depends on weight. At 70 kg it is 1.4 g per kg, inside the 1.0 to 1.5 consensus range the RNI text cites; at 50 kg it is 2.0. The RNI document says no safe upper limit has been identified and advises caution at 3 to 4 times the safe intake.
Is 2 g of protein per kg enough?
It is above 1.6 g per kg, where the cited analysis found no further fat-free mass gain from protein supplementation in resistance training. The RNI identifies no upper limit and advises caution at 3 to 4 times the safe intake. This page does not say what to eat.
How much protein is in a plate of nasi lemak?
MyFCD, the Ministry of Health’s food table, lists 9.7 g for a 230 g plate and 14.7 g for a 306 g plate. The plate list here uses the first. The data are decades old, so a plate today may carry more or less.
Built by Yap Pat Yih, founder of Habitus Mind.