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Adults over 65: calorie and protein needs

After 65 the energy requirement drifts down while the protein target drifts up. Those two curves crossing is the single most useful thing to understand about eating in later life.

General information only, not medical advice and not a diagnosis. These are population reference values; a doctor or registered dietitian is the person who turns them into something specific to you.

Later lifeWomen and menReference age 70

Total energy expenditure falls in later life for two reasons that are easy to confuse. The first is that fat-free mass shrinks, and fat-free mass is what sets resting energy expenditure. The second is that activity falls — often much more than people realise, because the reduction happens in unstructured movement rather than in exercise sessions. Between them they can take several hundred kilocalories a day off the requirement over a couple of decades.

The protein target moves the other way. Older muscle shows anabolic resistance: it needs more protein in a meal to trigger the same muscle-protein-synthesis response as younger muscle. That is why ESPEN's expert-group guidance for healthy older adults sits at 1.0-1.2 g per kg of body weight a day rather than the 0.83 g/kg general adult reference intake, and why the distribution matters as much as the total. Three meals each carrying a reasonable protein dose beats one large protein meal and two token ones.

Put the two together and the practical problem becomes clear: a smaller energy budget has to carry a larger protein and micronutrient load. There is less room for foods that bring energy and nothing else. This is also why resistance training earns its place here more than at any other life stage — it is the one lever that acts on the lean mass that sets the energy requirement in the first place.

One important exception: unintentional weight loss in later life is a medical signal, not a success. If weight is falling without a deliberate change, that belongs with a doctor.

The adjustment for this stage

No addition — the requirement falls with lean mass and activity, while the protein target rises.

PAL 1.45 reflects a retired adult who walks daily but has no occupational activity. Frailty pushes it toward 1.2; an active gardener or hiker sits well above it.

Source: ESPEN (European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism) expert-group guidance on protein intake in older adults · checked 2026-09-02

The equation this page uses

BMR (men)   = 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) − 5 × age + 5
BMR (women) = 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) − 5 × age − 161

Daily target = BMR × 1.45

Worked through for the middle row of the table below: a woman of 75 kg and 170 cm at age 70 has a Mifflin-St Jeor BMR of about 1 302 kcal. Multiplied by PAL 1.45 that is 1 887 kcal, which is the daily estimate.

Worked example: by height and weight

Worked example: how age moves it

What changes if your activity is different

Protein for this stage

ESPEN's expert-group guidance for healthy older adults is 1.0-1.2 g of protein per kg of body weight a day — meaningfully above the 0.83 g/kg general adult reference intake, because older muscle responds less strongly to the same amount of protein.

Source: ESPEN (European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism) expert-group guidance on protein intake in older adults · checked 2026-09-02

Your own numbers

The nutrients that matter most here

• Protein. The headline nutrient of this stage. The reason is anabolic resistance: the same dose of protein produces a smaller muscle-protein-synthesis response in older adults than in younger ones, so the guidance target is higher.
• Vitamin D. Skin synthesis falls with age on top of the northern winter problem, which is why most national programmes single out older adults.
• Calcium. Bone loss accelerates after midlife in both sexes. EFSA's adult reference intake is 950 mg a day.
• Vitamin B12. Absorption from food falls with age and with some long-term medicines. This is a blood-test question, and a common one at this stage of life.
• Fluid. Thirst sensation declines with age, so thirst is a weaker guide than it was. Routine rather than sensation is the usual practical answer.

Source: EFSA Dietary Reference Values — energy, protein and micronutrients (European Food Safety Authority) · checked 2026-09-02

Nutrient reference values are population figures. This page never tells you to take a supplement or how much of one to take — that is a decision for a clinician who can see your blood work and your medicines.

What to actually do

• Put a protein source in every meal rather than concentrating it in the evening.
• Add resistance work twice a week — it is the only lever that acts on the lean mass driving the energy requirement.
• Drink to a routine rather than to thirst, because the thirst signal weakens with age.
• Treat unplanned weight loss, appetite loss or new swallowing difficulty as a reason to see a doctor.

Frequently asked questions

Other life stages

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