CHILDHOOD PROTEIN REQUIREMENT

CHILDHOOD PROTEIN REQUIREMENT

Proteins of animal origin are termed “biologically complete proteins” since these provide good deal of essential amino acids, namely lysine, leucine, isoleucine, tryptophan, valine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine and histidine. On the contrary, proteins of vegetable origin are usually “biologically incomplete” since they lack one or more of the essential amino acids. However, when different vegetable sources of protein are combined, result is a product that is likely to provide all the essential amino acids. Higher amount of vegetable proteins are needed to make allowance for low biological value.

Age range (years)                             Protein requirement (g/kg)

Under 1                                            3.5 to 2.6

1 to 3                                                2.5 to 2.0

4 to 6                                                3.0

7 to 9                                                2.8

10 to 12                                            2.0

13 to 15                                            1.7

16 to 19                                            1.5

Adult                                                1.0

Biological value is defined as the fraction of absorbed nitrogen retained in the body for growth or maintenance. It is f 100 for egg protein which is regarded as the “reference protein”, 75 for milk and fish and 67 for rice.