Indirect calorimetry, as a result of the pioneer work of DuBois and his colaborators,1 has become generally adopted in the last two or three years, in this country at least, as a routine method of laboratory diagnosis in certain diseases, especially in those of the ductless glands. As a functional test of the thyroid gland, the level of the basal metabolism is being determined at the present time in many clinics. Clinicians, of course, wish to use the most accurate criteria available in judging of the normality or abnormality of the basal metabolism of their patients, and yet at present they may well be puzzled in choosing between the several methods that have been proposed for the purpose by various investigators. It is with the hope of throwing light on this phase of the subject that the present communication is made. METHODS FOR PREDICTING THE BASAL METABOLISM OF NORMAL PERSONS