Recommended daily exercise for Japanese does not increase the protein requirement in sedentary young men

In a previous study, we reported that protein intake at the level of dietary protein allowance for Japanese adults, i.e. 1.08 g/kg per day, was enough for recommended daily exercise. However, whether or not recommended daily exercise increases the protein requirement for young adults has not been examined. In this study, we investigated the effect of recommended daily exercise on the protein requirement under an isoenergetic state by a nitrogen balance method. After an adaptation period of 3 days, 12 healthy college students exercised for 10 days with a non-exercise control period of 10 days before or after the exercise period. They were given a maintenance level of energy and 0.64 g/kg per day of high-quality mixed proteins, estimated as the average protein requirement for adults by the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Japan, throughout the experimental period. They performed treadmill running during the exercise period at about 65% of VO2 max for 25 or 40 min/d, which expended 200 or 300 kcal of extra energy, respectively. Although the exercise increased the dermal nitrogen loss, a compensatory decrease in urinary nitrogen excretion was observed. Consequently, the exercises (200 and 300 kcal/d) did not significantly affect the nitrogen balance. These findings indicate that the recommended amount of daily exercise does not change the protein requirement.