Basal metabolic rate, or BMR, is a measurement of the rate in which your body burns energy while at rest. BMR is the minimum rate of calories that the body needs to stay alive, or to keep your basic bodily functions going, such as breathing and blood circulation. In addition, BMR helps to establish the amount of exercise and calorie consumption is necessary for you to maintain, lose or gain weight. BMR results are in calories per day. Consult with your health care provider about your BMR calculations or if you have any concerns prior to changing your dietary or exercise habits.
Step 1
Find the values of your weight in pounds and height in inches. If your weight is in kg, convert to pounds by multiplying that number by 2.20462262 to get your weight total in pounds.
Step 2
Convert your height into inches. There are 12 inches in 1 foot, so if you are 5 foot 6 inches, then 5 x 12 = 60 inches + 6 = 66 inches.
Step 3
Substitute your weight, height and age in the formula, which differs by gender to get your BMR. For men: 66 + 6.23 (weight) + 12.7 (height) -- 6.8 (age). For women: 655 + 4.35 (weight) + 4.7 (height) -- 4.7 (age).
For example, using 160 pounds for weight, 66 inches for height and 30 as age, you would substitute those numbers into the formula depending on what gender you are. For men: 66 + 6.23 (160) + 12.7 (66) -- 6.8 (30). For women: 655 + 4.35 (160) + 4.7 (66) -- 4.7 (30).
Step 4
Multiply the weight by 6.23 if you are male to get 996.8 or by 4.35 if you are female to get 696. Then substitute those numbers into the formula. For men: 66 + 996.8 + 12.7 (66) -- 6.8 (30). For women: 655 + 696 + 4.7 (66) -- 4.7 (30).
Step 5
Calculate the next portion of the formula by multiplying your height by the respective number, which is 12.7 if male to get the total of 838.2, or 4.7 if female to get 310.2 and substitute those numbers into the equation. For men: 66 + 996.8 + 838.2 -- 6.8 (30). For women: 655 + 696 + 310.2 -- 4.7 (30).
Step 6
Compute the last portion of the equation, which is your age, by multiplying by 6.8 for men to get 204, or by 4.7 if you are female to get 141. Substitute those values into the formula. For men: 66 + 996.8 + 838.2 -- 204. For women: 655 + 696 + 310.2 -- 141.
Step 7
Add the first three numbers of the equation and subtract the fourth number to get the final BMR number. For men: 66 + 996.8 + 838.2 -- 204 = 1697 calories per day. For women: 655 + 696 + 310.2 -- 141 = 1520.2 calories per day.
Tips and Warnings
- Calculating your daily caloric intake to maintain weight would require you to multiply your BMR by 1.2 for sedentary, meaning little or no exercise daily; multiply BMR and 1.375 for lightly active; multiply MBR and 1.55 for moderately active; multiply BMR and 1.725 for very active; multiply BMR and 1.9 for extremely active.
- Double-check your calculations to ensure accuracy.
Things You'll Need
- Calculator
- Weight
- Height
- Age
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