if pregnant women operate at 2.2 times their BMR, why do they need only a few hundred extra calories ?

Question

I’ve seen this [study](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/health-48527798.amp) saying women operate at 2.2 of their BMR while pregnant and comparing pregnancy to other types of endurance events (marathons, etc). But most of the recommendations to pregnant women say you only need a few hundred extra calories (around 200-450 calories depending on trimester and source).

Wouldn’t burning 2.2 your BMR mean your burning 2.2 times more calories and therefore need 2.2 times what you ‘typically’ need?

In: Biology

Answer 1

You’ve misread the article you linked. The article you linked is also not a study. It says pregnant women **peak** at 2.2 BMR, not that pregnancy **sustains** 2.2 BMR.

The most important note here is that you’ve linked an article written by a not-scientist reporting on the findings of scientists. Always take these articles with a grain of salt. The reporters often have no idea what they’re talking about.