What is BMR?
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the number of calories your body requires to perform its most essential functions to keep you alive, even when you're at rest. This includes things like breathing, circulating blood, processing nutrients, and creating cells. Basically, your body burns calories just to keep everything working.
Why is BMR important to know?
Knowing your BMR is helpful for managing your weight, whether you want to lose, gain, or maintain it. By understanding how many calories your body naturally burns, you can decide how many calories you should eat. If you want to keep your weight stable, eat the same number of calories you burn. If you want to gain weight, eat more calories than you burn. If you want to lose weight, eat fewer calories than you burn.
Best ways to calculate your BMR:
Harris Benedict Equation: This method uses your weight, height, and age to estimate your BMR. For women and men, the formulas are as follows:
For Women:
BMR = 655 + (9.6 × weight in kg) + (1.8 × height in cm) – (4.7 × age in years)
For Men:
BMR = 66 + (13.7 × weight in kg) + (5 × height in cm) – (6.8 × age in years)
Mifflin Equation: This equation also uses your weight, height, and age to estimate BMR. For women and men, the formulas are as follows:
For Women:
BMR = 161 + [10 × body weight (kg)] + [6.25 × height (cm)] – 5 × Age
For Men:
BMR = 5 + [10 × body weight (kg)] + [6.25 × height (cm)] – 5 × Age
World Health Organization (WHO) Method: This approach calculates BMR based on weight. For women and men, the formulas are as follows:
For Women:
BMR = 8.7 × W (kg) + 829
For Men:
BMR = 11.6 × W (kg) + 879
MET Method: This method simplifies things by using your lean body mass to estimate BMR. The equation for both men and women is:
BMR = 3.5 × [lean body mass (in kg) / 200] × 60 × 24
These calculations help estimate the baseline calories your body needs. Remember, they are just estimates and individual variations might apply. Always consult a healthcare professional for personalised guidance.
Your BMR is determined by a number of factors, including:
- Gender
- Weight
- Height
- Age
- Weight history
- Body composition
- Genetic factor
Understanding your BMR, your typical activity level, and the amount of calories you need daily to maintain your weight are important ways for you to actively participate in your physical health.
Whether you need to gain weight, maintain your current weight, or lose weight, calculating your BMR is a good place to start.
To modify your BMR, start by shedding excess weight and enhancing muscle mass. These actions can help you influence your weight and body composition.
