Protein-rich recovery shakes have an important place in sports nutrition, but they are also over-used and consumed by people who don’t need them. As a parent of a school-aged athlete, here’s what you need to know before fixing a protein shake for your active child.

Most kids get more than enough protein

Adults need about 0.8-1.0 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day in order to support an active lifestyle. That requirement increases to 1.2-1.7 g/kg/day for amateur athletes, like adults who run and/or go to the gym 3-5 times per week.

Protein intakes of 1.6-1.8 g/kg/day, combined with heavy weight training, have been shown to help strength athletes build muscle, however, very little research indicates additional benefit – for any athlete – from exceeding 2 g/kg/day. Even though school-age children are actively growing in addition to participating in sports, their protein requirements are within the ranges above, at about 1-1.5g/kg/day.

Estimating protein requirements is easy

A convenient way to estimate your child’s protein requirement is to take their weight in pounds and divide by two. The resulting value is a good starting point for the amount of protein they should consume, in grams.

For example, an 80-pound child should consume 40 grams of protein per day. Even if you wanted to increase protein intake as an ‘insurance policy’ to make sure they’re getting enough, you’d still only be looking at 50 grams.

Even vegetarians and vegans can eat all the protein they need

It is not as difficult as you might think to get more than enough protein: Recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) have consistently shown Americans consume about twice the recommended or necessary amount of protein per day. Dairy products contain about 1g of protein per ounce, and lean meats, fish, and beans contain about 7g of protein per ounce. Nuts and legumes (peanuts) contain 4-7g of protein per ounce.

Considering the protein-rich components of our 80-pound student-athlete’s potential daily diet, here’s how easy it is to exceed the protein requirement: