Reply To This Post         Return to Posts Index           VegSource Home

From:	gary (71.41.49.242)
Subject:	Re: harris-benedict equation
Date:	October 4, 2012 at 10:15 am PST

In Reply to: harris-benedict equation posted by gary on October 4, 2012 at 9:31 am:

While all equations for predicting energy
expenditure only make estimates, the Harris-Benedict
equation typically overestimates by 5% or more.

Technical Notes

BMR and RMR Equations

Equations have been developed to estimate BMR and
RMR when testing is not practical. We use the
Harris-Benedict equation for BMR, and the Mifflin
equation for RMR.

The Harris-Benedict equation has been the standard
for decades and is still the most widely used for
estimating BMR. This is why we offer it to our
users. However, numerous studies have shown it to be
inaccurate for a number of reasons:

According to today's test standards the Harris-
Benedict equation does not estimate BMR, but rather
RMR. This is because the test subjects did not spend
the night at the test facility.
The test subjects used to develop the Harris-
Benedict equation did not include an adequate
representation of obese people, nor of younger and
older people. These omissions continue to become
more significant as populations become older and
heavier.
While all equations for predicting energy
expenditure only make estimates, the Harris-Benedict
equation typically overestimates by 5% or more.
Since the Harris-Benedict equation was first
published in 1919, a number of studies have
attempted to improve it. Of these, none has been
shown to produce more accurate results than the
Mifflin equation we use for calculating RMR.
For further details please refer to Validation of
several established equations for resting metabolic
rate in obese and nonobese people, Journal of the
American Dietetic Association, September 2003, David
C. Frankenfield, et al.

Reply To This Post         Return to Posts Index           VegSource Home