Maintenance Calorie Calculator | Educational REE Scenarios

Mifflin–St Jeor (February 1990): men: REE = 10 × W + 6.25 × H − 5 × A + 5; women: REE = 10 × W + 6.25 × H − 5 × A − 161. W is kg, H is cm and A is years; output is kcal/day. Original paper, simplified equations.

The study included 498 healthy adults aged 19–78, including normal-weight and obese participants. This tool restricts Mifflin illustrations to 19–78; that range is not a guarantee of personal accuracy.

Enter weight, height and age in the displayed units, then select the male or female coefficient set used in the source. These labels identify equation coefficients, not a measurement of body composition. Inputs must be complete finite numbers; results are cleared when contributing inputs change.

Metric inputs use kg and cm. Where imperial choices are present, pounds are multiplied by 0.45359237 and inches by 2.54 before calculation. Displayed kcal/day is rounded to a whole number.

Basal measurement uses controlled resting and post-absorptive conditions. Resting-energy prediction instead substitutes inputs into a regression equation. FAO/WHO/UNU definitions distinguish basal conditions and total expenditure. This form does not perform calorimetry.

Total daily expenditure includes energy beyond rest. A selected numerical product is not a measurement of that expenditure, a minimum food allowance, or a verified maintenance intake. There is no fixed percentage gap between the displayed equations.

The retained factors are 1.2, 1.375, 1.55, 1.725 and 1.9. Select a number to explore REE × factor. These choices are mathematical scenarios; an exercise frequency or job description does not establish an individual factor.

For a 70 kg, 175 cm, 30-year-old male coefficient example, Mifflin–St Jeor gives 1,648.75 kcal/day (displayed 1,649). Selecting 1.2 gives 1,978.5 kcal/day (displayed 1,979). Multiplication uses the unrounded equation result.

In this equation, increasing W by 1 kg changes predicted REE by 10 kcal/day; increasing H by 1 cm changes it by 6.25 kcal/day; increasing A by one year changes it by −5 kcal/day. These are coefficients of a regression, not measured changes in an individual metabolism.

The form does not measure activity, lean mass, medications or illness. Its factor choice cannot replace that missing information.

Equation output is predicted resting energy, not measured metabolism or a food-intake target. No automatic deficit, surplus, macronutrient prescription, weekly weight forecast, or medical metabolism grade is inferred.

A study population describes the evidence behind an equation. It does not establish suitability for every person with the same age or measurements, or for illness, pregnancy, lactation, or childhood. Individual nutrition decisions require information beyond these inputs.

Record the named equation, entered units, and selected factor when comparing results. Resubmit after an edit to see a calculation belonging to the new inputs. The unrounded REE is multiplied before the output is rounded.

The factors 1.2, 1.375, 1.55, 1.725 and 1.9 are site-defined mathematical scenarios. No cited source clinically validates them for an individual. Scenario = unrounded equation × selected factor.

Publication: Mifflin et al., February 1990, DOI 10.1093/ajcn/51.2.241. Original paper facsimile. Sources checked on 2026-09-30; this access date is separate from publication.

NIST Handbook 44 (2026), Appendix C: 1 lb = 0.45359237 kg; 1 in = 2.54 cm.