Nutritionists typically use a formula known as the Harris-Benedict equation to figure out how many calories a subject needs to consume simply to maintain his or her current weight. The equation produces a number called the basal metabolic rate, or BMR. When converted from metric to English units of measure, it looks like this for women: BMR = 655 + (4.35 × weight in pounds) + (4.7 × height in inches)-(4.7 × age in years)
