Basal Metabolic Rate

To the Editor:— During the past 17 years we have done several thousand pulmonary function studies by spirometric methods and with these we have obtained as many determinations of the basal metabolic rate. Again and again we have noticed the tendency of the basal metabolic rate to be low when calculated by the "accepted" standards. What are the accepted standards? At present there are three slightly different standards in use: the Aub and DuBois standards (1917), modified by Boothby and Sandiford (1929); the Harris and Benedict standards (1919); and the Mayo Clinic standards of Boothby, Berkson, and Dunn (1936). The normal basal metabolic rate is usually considered to range from -10 to +10% when compared with any of these standards. Observations similar to ours have been made before. DuBois and Chambers (J. A. M. A.119:1183 Aug. 8 1942) found that the old standards were too high and that