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.
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
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.
| Age (Years) | Men | Women |
| < 3 | 59.512 * weight (kg) – 30.4 | 58.317 * weight (kg) – 31.1 |
| 3-9 | 22.706 * kg + 504.3 | 20.315 * kg + 485.9 |
| 10–17 | 17.675 * kg + 657.8 | 13.375 * kg + 692.2 |
| 18-29 | 15.047 * kg + 691.7 | 14.808 * kg + 486.3 |
| 30-59 | 11.465 * kg + 872.5 | 8.121 * kg + 845.0 |
| 60–74 | 11.918 * kg + 699.8 | 9.219 * kg + 686.7 |
| ≥75 | 8.359 * kg + 820.2 | 9.793 * kg + 623.4 |
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.
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
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:
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
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 study10,11. Disease-specific energy and protein recommendations can be found in "NutriGo"
FERRIE, S. & WARD, M. (2007). Back to basics: Estimating energy requirements for adult hospital patients. Nutrition & Dietetics, 64(3), 192–199. Go to reference
FAO, Organization, W. H. & University, U. N. (2004). Human energy requirements: Report of a joint FAO/WHO/UNU expert consultation : Rome, 2001. Food and nutrition technical report series: Bd. 1. FAO.
Subramaniam, A., McPhee, M. & Nagappan, R. (2012). Predicting energy expenditure in sepsis: Harris-Benedict and Schofield equations versus the Weir derivation. Critical care and resuscitation : journal of the Australasian Academy of Critical Care Medicine, 14(3), 202–210.
Frankenfield, D. C., Rowe, W. A., Smith, J. S. & Cooney, R. N. (2003). Validation of several established equations for resting metabolic rate in obese and nonobese people. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 103(9), 1152–1159. Go to reference
OWEN, O. E. (1988). Resting Metabolic Requirements of Men and Women. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 63(5), 503–510. Go to reference
Haaf, T. ten & Weijs, P. J. M. (2014). Resting energy expenditure prediction in recreational athletes of 18-35 years: confirmation of Cunningham equation and an improved weight-based alternative. PloS one, 9(9), e108460. Go to reference
Ireton-Jones, C. & Jones, J. D. (2002). Improved equations for predicting energy expenditure in patients: the Ireton-Jones Equations. Nutrition in clinical practice : official publication of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, 17(1), 29–31. Go to reference
Cunningham, J. J. (1980). A reanalysis of the factors influencing basal metabolic rate in normal adults. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 33(11), 2372–2374. Go to reference
Mifflin, M. D., St Jeor, S. T., Hill, L. A., Scott, B. J., Daugherty, S. A. & Koh, Y. O. (1990). A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 51(2), 241–247. Go to reference
Gomes F, et al. ESPEN guidelines on nutritional support for polymorbid internal medicine patients. Clin Nutr. 2018;37(1):336-53.
| AF | Activity factor |
| DF | Disease factor |
| EFFORT | Effect of Early Nutritional Therapy on Frailty, Functional Outcomes and Recovery of Undernourished Medical Inpatients Trial |
| ESPEN | European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism |
| GFR | Glomerular filtration rate |
| REE | Resting energy expenditure |