What is the recommended daily requirement of potassium for an adult?

Appeared in: DSSSB 6 September 2024

Explanation

The recommended daily intake of potassium for an adult is approximately 3 to 4 grams.
This value falls within the standard guidelines necessary for maintaining essential physiological functions.
Potassium is a crucial intracellular electrolyte required for nerve transmission, muscle function, and maintaining a regular cardiac rhythm.
Adequate intake prevents both deficiency (hypokalemia) and toxicity (hyperkalemia).

Option A: This amount is insufficient to meet the body's daily physiological needs and would lead to hypokalemia (low potassium levels) over time.
Option B: This is an extremely high and toxic amount. Ingesting 20 grams of potassium would cause severe, life-threatening hyperkalemia (high potassium levels).
Option D: This amount is significantly above the recommended daily intake and poses a high risk of hyperkalemia, especially in individuals with any degree of kidney impairment.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Recommended daily potassium requirement for adults as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Nurses must diligently monitor serum potassium levels (normal range: 3.5-5.0 mEq/L), as both hypokalemia (low potassium) and hyperkalemia (high potassium) can lead to life-threatening cardiac dysrhythmias.
Patient education on dietary potassium is a key nursing role, particularly for patients on diuretics (which can waste potassium) or those with renal failure (who retain potassium).
What if? If the patient had chronic kidney disease (CKD), the recommended potassium intake would be significantly lower, often restricted to less than 2 grams per day, because the failing kidneys cannot effectively excrete potassium, leading to a high risk of hyperkalemia.

How to Approach the Question

This is a factual recall question that asks for a specific nutritional value.
First, identify the key components of the question: 'daily requirement', 'potassium', and 'adult'.
Recall the standard recommended dietary allowance for potassium. The typical range is around 3.5 to 4.7 grams per day.
Evaluate the given options against this known physiological value.
Eliminate options that are clearly too low (1.5 g) or dangerously high (10 g, 20 g), as these would lead to electrolyte imbalances.
Select the option (4 g) that falls squarely within the established healthy range for an adult.

Concept Tested & Keywords

Qv65tsp1WYsIVt8jvRAfyW

E6 Textbook of Biochemistry for medical StudentsDM Vasudevan Part 2 — Subpart A (pp 1-239 of 478) p. 94-96

E6 Nutrition Monika Sharma 3e p. 151-153

Practise the full DSSSB 6 September 2024

Attempt every question from this paper in a timed mock, then review the full solution for each one.