Resting Metabolic Rate Calculator and Definition

The two terms Resting Metabolic Rate and Basal Metabolic rate are used almost synonymously, however they are not exactly the same. On this page we will provide you with a Resting Metabolic Rate calculator by showing you a method of calculating Resting Metabolic Rate easily on your own. Your Resting Metabolic Rate is important in finding out what your very own metabolic rate is.

Your metabolic rate is your Resting Metabolic Rate or RMR as it is commonly referred to plus energy used by your daily activity. The latter of course cannot be determined exactly so a degree of guesswork is used here.

What is Resting Metabolic Rate?

So what is Resting Metabolic Rate? Your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is a calculation that is used to determine the amount of energy that you require to stay alive and function without any physical activity. The method and process of calculation is not as stringent and exact as the Basal Metabolic Rate which is the calculation used to determine the amount of energy that you require to stay alive and function at total rest, so sleeping! Your Resting Metabolic Rate is one of the main components that contribute to your total energy expenditure. What you are doing when calculating your Resting Metabolic Rate is ascertaining the minimum number of calories that your body needs to support the most basic of mechanical and thermometric functions such as breathing, your heart beating and maintaining the required temperature. Your Resting Metabolic Rate is generally responsible up to 75% of your daily caloric usage.

Knowing the minimum number of calories your body requires is critical if you are trying to lose, gain or maintain your current weight.

There are certain factors that will determine your Resting Metabolic Rate, everybody's is different and it is possible for certain people to have physical conditions that can give them an abnormal Resting Metabolic Rate. Below is a list of factors which can affect your metabolic rate:

  • Age - Your Resting Metabolic Rate decreases as you get older, younger people have higher/faster metabolism due to increased cell activity
  • Gender - Men in general have up to 15% faster Resting Metabolic Rate than females due to their bodies having a greater amount of lean muscle tissue
  • Genetic factors - It is possible that your Resting Metabolic Rate can decrease due to your genetics
  • Eating habits - Small regular meals can increase your Resting Metabolic Rate
  • Supplements - The use of supplements can increase your Resting Metabolic Rate
  • Dieting - Hard dieting will decrease your Resting Metabolic Rate
  • Muscle - The more muscle that you have the more your Resting Metabolic Rate increases
  • Temperature - Spending time in cold temperatures can increase your Resting Metabolic Rate as you use more energy when functioning in colder weather.

For the most of us though we only need a few factors in order to calculate our Resting Metabolic Rate.

  • Age
  • Gender
  • Height
  • Weight
  • Fat free body mass



Resting Metabolic Rate Calculator

There are several different types of equation that can be used to calculate Resting Metabolic Rate but the most commonly used is called the Mifflin Equation and this is the one that is shown below. Another equation used as a Resting Metabolic Rate Calculator is the Harris-Benedict Equation, however this is used mainly for calculating your Basal Metabolic Rate.

The Mifflin equation for Resting Metabolic Rate RMR:

Resting Metabolic Rate formula for males: (10 x weight kg) + (6.25 x height cm) - (5 x age) + 5

Resting Metabolic Rate formula for females: (10 x weight kg) + (6.25 x height cm) - (5 x age) - 161

The above equation does not take into account your body composition, which is a measurement of the percentages of both muscle and fat that your individual body is comprised of. Therefor it is less accurate if you have a non-typical amount of muscle because muscle burns calories, whereby fat does not.
A person who has an above average amount of muscle will have a higher Basal Metabolic Rate or Resting Metabolic Rate than calculated; a person with a below average amount of muscle will have a lower Basal Metabolic Rate or Resting Metabolic Rate than calculated.

As your Basal Metabolic Rate only represents resting energy expenditure, an adjustment needs to be made to reflect your level of activity. You can do this by multiplying your RMR or BMR by an activity factor (this factor was put forward by McArdle et al 1996).

Activity Factor

  • 1.2 - Sedentary - Little to no exercise each day
  • 1.375 - Lightly Active - Light exercise or sports 1-3 days each week
  • 1.55 - Moderately Active - Light exercise or sports 3-5 days a week
  • 1.725 - Very Active - Hard Exercise or sports 6-7 days a week
  • 1.9 Extremely Active - Hard daily exercise or sports plus a physical occupation

By using these activity factors you are gaining a very loose estimate of the total daily energy expenditure or in simple terms the amount of calories you should be burning off in a normal day, and there are many different opinions on what these activity factors should actually be.

We hope that this page has been of use to you in finding out the answer to the common question 'What is Resting Metabolic Rate?', please check out our other pages including our page on the Basal Metabolic Rate calculator, our main page on a range of metabolism boosting foods that you can include in your metabolism diet and also our page on metabolism boosters.



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