NutriCalc - Calculate nutritional goals (2024)

Harris-Benedict Formel¹

With the present nutrition calculator, individual nutrition goals can be easily calculated online. The calculator presented here is based on the ESPEN guidelines for polymorbid, internal medicine patients and was used in the EFFORT study ^10,11.

• Energy requirement: REE x (AF + DF); REE according to Harris Benedict with adjusted body weight.
• Protein requirement: 1.2 - 1.5 g per kg body weight 0.8 g in severe renal failure without dialysis (GFR < 30 ml/min/1.73 m²)

Equation¹

• Men: 66.5 + 13.75 * weight in kg + 5.003 * height in cm - 6.750 * age in years

• Women: 655.1 + 9.563 * weight in kg + 1.850 * height in cm - 4.676 * age in years

  See Also

  The Precision Nutrition Body Fat Calculator

Schofield Equation (WHO Equation)¹

The Schofield equation, also known as the World Health Organization (WHO) equation, calculates resting energy expenditure in kilocalories per day. It is based on work of the WHO, which summarizes 114 publications. The equation can be used for people of different weights and ages, including children. Height does not have to be specified. When the equation was being developed, the data used significantly more men than women, with a significant number of healthy, athletic, and young men. This may mean that the equation overestimates energy needs for hospitalized individuals.

Equation^{2, 3}

Mifflin-St. Jeor Equation¹

The Mifflin-St. Jeor equation was developed in 1990 using 498 healthy adult participants. Half of the participants were overweight. This equation calculates a lower requirement for people with very high weight and is therefore particularly suitable for overweight and obese people. It was not developed for clinical use.

Equation¹

• Men: 10 * kg + 6.25 * cm – 5 * age in years+ 5
• Women: 10 * kg + 6.25 * cm – 5 * years- 161

Owen Equation

The Owen Formula was developed in 1986-1987 in a study of 44 female and 60 male participants. One formula was developed for healthy, non-athletic lean and overweight men and a second for healthy, non-athletic lean and overweight women. The formula tends to underestimate the needs of women especially with a BMI >40.4.^{4, 5}

Equation⁶

• Men: 879 + 10.2 * weight (kg)
• Women: 795 + 7.18 * weight (kg)

Cunningham Equation

Cunningham published a study in 1980 in which he analyzed data from the Harris-Benedict study. Trained athletes were excluded. He developed a new equation for calculating resting energy expenditure that uses a person's fat-free mass.8 The equation overestimates measured expenditure 14-15% of the time⁹. Haaf and Weijs (2014) validated the equation for recreational athletes. In this study, air displacement plethysmography was used to determine lean body mass.

Cunningham used the following formulas to calculate lean body mass:

• Lean body mass males = (79.5 – 0.24 * (weight in kg) – 0.15 * (age in years)) * kg ÷ 73.2
• Lean body mass women = (69.8 – 0.26 * kg – 0.12 * years) * kg ÷ 73.2

Ireton-Jones Equation

The Ireton-James equation was first developed in 1992 in a study with 200 participants. In 2002, the equation was evaluated and adapted with another 100 people. For this equation, hospitalized subjects were studied for the first time. This resulted in two different equations for artificially ventilated and independently breathing patients. For the Ireton-James equation, no adjusted weight should be used for overweight individuals. Note that this equation calculates total energy requirements; it is not necessary to multiply the result by a disease or activity factor.^{1, 7}

Equation⁷

• Breathing independently: 629 - 11 * (age in years) + 25 * (weight in kg) - 609 * (overweight).
• ventilated: 1784 - 11* (age) + 5 * (weight) + 244 * (sex) + 239 * (injury) + 804 * (burn)
• Overweight: if BMI > 27kg/m², then 1, otherwise 0
• Gender: Man=1, Woman=0
• Diagnosis of an injury: Yes=1, No=0
• Diagnosis of a burn: Yes=1, No=0

Protein requirements calculation

In NutriCalc, protein requirements are calculated as 1.2 – 1.5 g per kg body weight and 0.8 g per kg body weight for severe renal failure without dialysis (GFR < 30 ml/min/1.73 m2). This is consistent with the approach used in the EFFORT study^10,11. Disease-specific energy and protein recommendations can be found in "NutriGo"