articles from public number: health and longevity micro notes, author: West Rock, title figure from: Oriental IC.


Excessive diet is probably the biggest hidden danger to modern human health.

In the past 100 years, with the rapid progress of science and technology, agricultural production has reached unprecedented levels, and the amount of food in many places is unprecedentedly rich. With the increasingly smooth global exchanges, the types of food that individuals face are also unprecedentedly rich. As the opening title of the cartoon “Food Hunter” said:

“This is an era of food, but also an era of unknown deliciousness.”

Source: Animation “Food Hunter”

According to the World Resources Institute’s (World Resources Institute) , in 2009, the world’s food production is sufficient for everyone on the planet An average of 2831 kilocalories per day (note the note in the figure below) food, which does not include the parts used for animal feed and fuel production.

Note: The English for a thousand cards is kilocalorie (kcal), which is also often called kalorie or calorie. Note that C is capitalized. 1 kilocalorie = 4.184 kilojoules (kJ).

The calories of 2831 kcal per day have greatly exceeded the food calories recommended by nutritionists at 2300 kcal, slightly less than the actual estimate of 3000 kcal. This has not yet been considered. With the changes in the industrial structure of human society caused by the scientific and technological revolution, many jobs no longer require a lot of physical labor, and the actual heat demand of many people is also decreasing. Anyway, if we let go of food according to the food supply, most of us will face the problem of excessive food intake.

According to 2019 data, the global population consumes more protein than the body actually needs, especially in rich areas. The area enclosed by the yellow line in the picture is China.

How much heat do we need?

Biologically there is a term called basal metabolic rate (Basal Metabolic Rate, BMR) , which specifically describes animals with constant body temperature. In the case of non-vigorous activities, the minimum energy required to sustain life.

It is generally believed that the calorie intake of food represented by the basal metabolic rate accounts for 70% of the total calories consumed by the human body, and the remaining part is physical activity (20%) and body temperature maintenance

The main part of basal metabolic energy is consumed by the major organs, including the liver and brain.

If our daily dietary calories exceed the amount consumed by the body, the extra part will be converted into something stored in the body. This substance can be the favorite of muscles and bodybuilders; it can be glycogen, the basis of athletes’ physical fitness; of course, it can also be fat, which is also something that modern people hate. How to know how many calories our body needs, so that we can actively control food intake, so as to achieve “my weight is my decision”, is the demand of the public, and is also a matter of great concern to the scientific community.

After several generations of scientists’ efforts, the formula most commonly accepted to estimate the basal metabolic rate in adults is the Mifflin St Jeor formula published by Mifflin and St Jeor in 1990:

♂ Basal metabolic rate (kcal / day) for men

= 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) -5 × age (years) +5

♀ Basal metabolic rate in women (kcal / day)

= 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) -5 × age (years) -161

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2305711

Because this formula comes from the study of Western populations, Japanese scientists also proposed an estimation formula for Asians in 2011 , which is Ganpule formula . As shown below:

♂ Male basal metabolic rate (kcal / day)

= 11.5 × weight (kg) + 5.6 × height (cm) -3.3 × age (years) -101.2

♀ Basal metabolic rate in women (kcal / day)

= 11.5 × weight (kg) + 5.6 × height (cm) -3.3 × age (years) -231.9

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21908945

No matter which formula you use, as long as you know your height, weight, and age, you can calculate your basal metabolic rate.

Like these two: the beautiful sister Zhiling and the heroic Yao Ming.

According to the public data of the two, their basal metabolic rate at the corresponding age is shown in the figure below.

Unsurprisingly, the slim Sister Zhiling needs less than half of Dayao’s calorie intake.

Note: The original data refers to network data 3 years ago. It may not conform to the actual situation, and it is for illustration purposes only.

The above two formulas for calculating the basal metabolic rate indicate that the basic energy requirements for maintaining the normal operation of the body mainly depend on the weight of the body, followed by height and age. At the same time, the body weight coefficient of Asians (Ganpule formula) is 11.5, while the body weight coefficient of Westerners is (Mifflin St Jeor formula) is 10. This difference seems to indicate that the weight of the basal metabolic rate receptor weight of the lighter-weight Asians is more important than that of the Western-weighted people.

Calculate how fat you are again

Body fat rate (body fat percentage, BFP for short) is used to describe the proportion of body fat in the whole body The index is generally expressed as a percentage, and women are higher than men. For example: if a person weighing 60 kg has a body fat rate of 30%, then his body fat weight is 18 kg.

The method of accurately measuring body fat rate is not only tedious, but also expensive, and only used by professional athletes. Fortunately, body fat percentage also