Health & Wellbeing
Calories Burned by Activity
Estimated calories used during exercise.
Education and reference only. Not a substitute for clinical judgement, local policy or product labelling. Always verify before clinical use. Values are calculated in your browser and never stored.
Background
This calculator uses the MET (metabolic equivalent of task) method. One MET is the energy cost of sitting quietly, defined as about 1 kcal per kilogram of body weight per hour. An activity rated at 4 METs therefore costs roughly four times that. Calories burned = MET value x weight in kg x hours spent. The MET values in the dropdown come from the Compendium of Physical Activities, the reference list used in physical activity research.
Interpreting the result
The figure is a population average applied to your body weight, so read it as an order of magnitude rather than a precise count. Two people of the same weight doing "brisk walking" for thirty minutes can differ by a third depending on pace, terrain, fitness and efficiency. Note also that the total includes the energy you would have burned anyway had you been resting — for a thirty-minute session that resting share is small, but it means the number slightly overstates the calories attributable to the exercise itself.
Advice
Figures are approximate and vary with pace, fitness and technique. Any activity counts — aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate activity a week.
Worked example
A 70 kg person jogging (7 METs) for 30 minutes: 7 x 70 x 0.5 = 245 kcal. The same person walking briskly (4.3 METs) for the same 30 minutes burns 4.3 x 70 x 0.5 = about 151 kcal.
Pearls / pitfalls
- Fitter people are often more efficient and may burn slightly less doing the same task — improving fitness does not automatically raise the calories burned per session.
- MET values assume a standard body composition. They tend to overestimate in people with a high body fat percentage, because fat tissue is metabolically less active than the lean mass the values assume.
- Do not add this figure on top of a TDEE that already includes an activity multiplier — that counts the same exercise twice.
- UK guidance is at least 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity a week plus muscle-strengthening on two days; the health benefits are not limited to calories burned.
Evidence & validation
MET values are taken from the 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities (Ainsworth and colleagues), which assigns energy costs to hundreds of activities, roughly two-thirds of them from measured values in published studies and the remainder estimated. The Compendium is designed for comparability across research studies; applying it to an individual introduces error, because it does not adjust for fitness, technique, body composition or age.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is this estimate?
It is a reasonable ballpark but individual error of 20-30% is common. Pace, terrain, technique, fitness and body composition all move the real figure.
What is a MET?
A metabolic equivalent — the energy cost of sitting quietly, about 1 kcal per kg of body weight per hour. An activity of 6 METs uses roughly six times that rate.
Why does weight change the answer so much?
Moving a heavier body costs more energy, so the same activity for the same time burns more calories at a higher body weight.
Are fitness trackers more accurate?
Not necessarily. Wrist devices estimate from heart rate and motion and have their own substantial error, particularly for strength training and cycling.
Does the number include what I would burn resting?
Yes. The MET method includes resting metabolism, so the calories genuinely attributable to the exercise are slightly lower than the figure shown.
References
- Ainsworth BE, Haskell WL, Herrmann SD, et al. 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities: a second update of codes and MET values. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011;43(8):1575-1581.
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