Calories Burned in Exercise (METs)

Finds the calories burned as METs × weight × hours × 1.05. A MET measures intensity: 1 at rest, 3 for walking, 7 for jogging.

Explanation

How much you burn in exercise comes down to intensity (METs), body weight and time.

\text{kcal} = \text{METs} \times \text{weight (kg)} \times \text{hours} \times 1.05

A MET says how many times your resting energy use an activity demands. Sitting still is 1 MET; something that burns four times as fast is 4 METs.

Common activities

Sitting still — 1.0
Strolling — 2.8
Walking — 3.0
Brisk walking — 4.3
Cycling, moderate — 6.8
Jogging — 7.0
Running at 8 km/h — 8.3
Swimming front crawl — 8.3
Climbing stairs — 8.8

Example

A 65 kg person does an hour of 4-MET exercise, roughly a brisk walk.

4 \times 65 \times 1 \times 1.05 = 273\ \text{kcal}

Since a gram of body fat holds about 7.2 kcal, that is $273 \div 7.2 = 38$ g of fat.

You cannot outrun your fork

Set that number beside some food.

A rice ball — 180 kcal
A pint of beer — 200 kcal
A slice of cake — 340 kcal

An hour of brisk walking, 273 kcal, does not even cover the cake. This is why serious weight loss starts in the kitchen. Exercise is superb for metabolism, muscle and health, but shifting the calorie balance by exercise alone is an uphill fight — and this formula says so plainly.