Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

It is not difficult to understand that your body is burning energy all the time, not only for our normal daily activities as physically working or exercising. But the most amount of energy we daily need is at rest. Even if you are asleep you need energy. You need this energy for the functioning of the vital organs, the heart, blood circulation, lungs, brain, nervous system, kidneys, liver, intestine, sex organs, muscles and skin. You also need energy to keep your body warm (100 F) and to digest our food. The energy need of the body at rest is called the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). It represents the minimum amount of energy needed to keep your body functioning, including breathing and keeping your heart beating. For most people the BMR accounts for the majority of the calories burned. As you get older, when other things being the same, your BMR will decrease. It already starts after the age of thirty with a decrease of 0.7 percent each year.

With our BMR calculator you can estimate your personal BMR. Our BMR formula uses the Mifflin St Jeor Equation (1990), which is to believe the most accurate. It uses the variables of height, weight, age and gender. The only factor it doesn’t take into count is the muscle-to-fat ratio of the body. Leaner bodies need more calories than less leaner bodies. This equation will underestimate the BMR for the very muscular body and overestimate for the obese body. The difference in the formula between men a women is mainly due to the different amounts of fat tissue in the male and female anatomy.