Basal Energy Expenditure: Harris-Benedict
All calculations should be independently verified prior to clinical use. These calculators are intended to supplement, not replace, clinical judgment.
Estimate basal energy expenditure (B.E.E.) and total caloric requirement using the Harris-Benedict equations, with adjustments for stress and activity factors.
The Harris-Benedict equations estimate basal energy expenditure in kcal/day from sex, height, weight, and age:
B.E.E. = 66.5 + (13.75 × kg) + (5.003 × cm) − (6.775 × age)
Female:
B.E.E. = 655.1 + (9.563 × kg) + (1.850 × cm) − (4.676 × age)
Total caloric requirement equals the B.E.E. multiplied by the sum of the stress and activity factors. Stress plus activity factors range from 1.2 (no stress, bedrest) to over 2.0 (major burns with ambulation).
Height in inches is converted to cm (× 2.54), weight in pounds to kg (÷ 2.2), and age in months to years (÷ 12) before applying the equations.
Special thanks to Dr. T.K. Shiao, University of Kansas Medical Center, co-author of Electronic Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.
References
- Harris JA, Benedict FG. A Biometric Study of Basal Metabolism in Man. Washington, DC: Carnegie Institution of Washington; 1919. Publication No. 279.
- Long CL, Schaffel N, Geiger JW, Schiller WR, Blakemore WS. Metabolic response to injury and illness: estimation of energy and protein needs from indirect calorimetry and nitrogen balance. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 1979;3(6):452–456.