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Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

The Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the minimum amount of energy (usually measured in calories or kilojoules) that the body requires to carry out its essential, life-sustaining physiological functions while at complete rest.

The energy calculated as BMR is used for all the background activities that keep us alive, even when we are seemingly doing nothing. This includes:

  • Breathing (action of respiratory muscles).
  • Heartbeat (cardiac muscle contraction).
  • Brain function (nerve impulses, maintaining cell activity).
  • Maintaining body temperature.
  • Kidney function (filtering blood).
  • Basic cellular processes (like protein synthesis).