A new model for estimating basal metabolic rate (BMR) using temperament in traditional Persian medicine (TPM)

Abstract

The estimation of basal metabolic rate is an important parameter in treating metabolic diseases and prescribing diet regimes. Some equations and analyses have been presented for a reliable estimate of basal metabolic rate. Although these estimates are plausible, they are all subject to errors due to unknown factors. The error reduction of this estimation is under debate. Based on some recent studies, significant similarities have been reported between factors affecting basal metabolic rate in modern medicine and temperament in traditional Persian medicine. Thus, our objective is to propose a new model to increase the accuracy of basal metabolic rate estimation based on temperament in traditional Persian medicine. Based on the available studies about the relationship between basal metabolic rate and temperament, we hypothesize that adding a new factor (warmness/ coldness) to common regression formulas of the basal metabolic rate may reduce the errors. In this article, we propose suggestions to confirm this model.