Basal metabolic rates of Indian women.

Basal metabolic rates (BMRs) in 60 Indian women resident in Bangalore and aged 18-30 years were measured during the mid-follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. The data were used to obtain a predictive equation for BMR from body weight. The BMR measurements were comparable to BMRs of 52 Indian women reported more than 50 years ago, while they were 9.2% lower than Schofield's equation and 4.2% lower than that predicted by the equation of C.K.J. Henry & D.G. Rees (1991) Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 45, 177-185. The equation obtained in this study predicts closely the BMRs of American women but underestimates BMRs of European women compared with figures recently reported in the literature.