About

This site is a home for the Mifflin-St Jeor equation — the resting-energy formula published in 1990 that a 2005 systematic review found the most accurate of the standard equations, and that the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends. The whole site exists to represent that work faithfully: the exact published formula, the original research it rests on, and a calculator that shows its working instead of hiding it.

The equation and its researchers

The equation carries the names of M.D. Mifflin and S.T. St Jeor, who led the 1990 study at the University of Nevada School of Medicine that produced it. Scientific formulas are conventionally named after the researchers who publish them, and this site — an independent educational site about their equation — uses that standard name the same way every clinical reference does. Their story and the study behind the formula are on the page about the equation and its researchers.

How the numbers are put together

The calculator uses the published Mifflin-St Jeor equation to estimate your resting calorie burn, then a standard activity factor for your total daily burn. Every figure in the guides is checked against the original papers — cited and linked at the foot of each page — and where a commonly-repeated figure can't be traced to a primary source, the site says so rather than stating it as fact. The 840-profile formula comparison publishes its full dataset so anyone can verify the numbers.

Who runs it

Built and maintained by Ash, a sports science and nutrition graduate. This is an educational site, not medical advice.

Where to start

New to this? Read the equation explained, or go straight to the calculator.