Plain Figures

Calories Burned Calculator

Estimate the calories used by an activity from your weight and how long you do it, using MET values from the 2024 Compendium of Physical Activities.

Activity
1 to 1,440.

Your weight

Estimated calories burned

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Enter your numbers to see the result.

How it is worked out

The 2024 Adult Compendium lists a MET value for each activity [2]. Its conversion is kilocalories per minute = METs × 3.5 × body weight in kg ÷ 200 [3]. Multiply by the minutes. MET values are used as listed, as the Compendium asks.

kcal = METs × 3.5 × kg ÷ 200 × minutes

Pounds are converted at 0.45359237 kg each. Nothing is rounded until the result is shown.

Example

Walking at 3.5 to 3.9 mph, level, brisk (code 17200, 4.8 METs), 45 minutes, 70 kg.

  1. Per minute: 4.8 × 3.5 × 70 ÷ 200 = 5.88 kcal.
  2. Total: 5.88 × 45 = 264.6 kcal. By the 1 kcal/kg/hour rule: 252 kcal.

An estimate only. It is not advice about food or exercise; ask your doctor or a registered dietitian.

Questions

How accurate is it?

It is an estimate. The Compendium says it was not developed to determine the precise energy cost of activities within an individual [4]. Age, sex, fitness, effort and conditions all change the real figure.

What is a MET?

The Compendium defines a MET as the ratio of the work metabolic rate to the resting metabolic rate, roughly the energy cost of sitting quietly [1]. An activity of 4.8 METs uses about 4.8 times what sitting quietly does.

Why two kilocalorie figures?

The Compendium’s conversion is kcal per minute = METs × 3.5 × kg ÷ 200 [3], which this page uses. It also describes one MET as 1 kcal per kg per hour [1], which gives a figure 4.8% lower; it is shown beside the main result.

Why only 44 activities?

The list is a short selection of common ones, with their Compendium codes and MET values unchanged, as the Compendium asks [1]. The full 2024 Adult Compendium has many more [2].

Does this tell me how much to eat or exercise?

No. It makes no recommendation. Ask your doctor or a registered dietitian about your own needs.

Sources

  1. Compendium of Physical Activities. 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities (home page, definitions). Accessed .
  2. Compendium of Physical Activities. 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, activity codes and MET values (PDF). Accessed .
  3. Compendium of Physical Activities. Compendium of Physical Activities: Unit Conversions. Accessed .
  4. Compendium of Physical Activities. Compendium of Physical Activities: Corrected METs. Accessed .

Last updated .