BMR: Your Questions Answered
These are the questions people ask most often about bmr. Each answer is short; follow the links for the full detail.
What does a bmr calculation tell me?
Estimates calories your body burns at rest.
What is the formula?
BMR = 10W + 6.25H − 5A + 5 (men) or − 161 (women).
What do I need to enter?
Sex, Weight (kg), Height (cm), Age.
Is this a medical assessment?
No. These are general estimates. Speak to a doctor or polyclinic for advice about your health.
Can you show an example?
For example, with these inputs:
- Sex: Male
- Weight (kg): 65
- Height (cm): 168
- Age: 35
the calculator returns:
- BMR (Mifflin-St Jeor): 1,530 kcal/day
Any tips?
- Measure at the same time of day, ideally in the morning, for consistent readings.
- Track trends over weeks rather than reacting to a single reading.
- Small, steady changes are easier to sustain than dramatic targets.
Background
Programmes such as the National Steps Challenge and the Healthy 365 app have made tracking activity common. Turning those numbers into distance, pace or calories helps set realistic goals for events like IPPT or a 10 km run.
Simple measurements such as weight, height and waist circumference are widely used to screen for health risks because they are cheap and easy to repeat. They are not diagnoses, but tracked over time they show whether lifestyle changes are working.
Energy needs depend on age, sex, size and activity. Formulas such as Mifflin-St Jeor estimate resting needs, and an activity multiplier turns that into daily needs. Real requirements vary by a few hundred calories, so adjust based on how your weight changes over several weeks.
Related calculations
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- Heart Rate Zone Calculator: Shows heart-rate training zones from your age.
- Waist-to-Height Ratio Calculator: A ratio above 0.5 suggests increased health risk.
Try it yourself with the BMR Calculator.
Run your own numbers: BMR Calculator