MET Calories Burned Calculator

CALORIES EXERCISE FITNESS MET
Share:
By Checked against sources by , Founder & Architect, RECATOOLS Published Updated Last reviewed

MET-based calories burned calculator: 36 activities with their codes and MET values from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities (Herrmann et al.). kcal per minute = MET × 3.5 × kg ÷ 200. An estimate, not medical advice.

RT-HLT-054 · Health & Fitness
Your browser is too old for this tool’s interactive features. Please update to Safari 13.1, Chrome or Edge 80, Firefox 74 or newer.

Calories Burned Calculator

📅 Research current as of 19 Oct 2026 · Sources: 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities (Herrmann et al., J Sport Health Sci 2024;13(1):6-12; codes and MET values from the list at pacompendium.com); kcal per minute = MET × 3.5 × kg ÷ 200 from the Compendium unit conversions; Wishnofsky 1958 for the 7,700 kcal/kg fat-mass convention
Standards, published formulas, and reference data are revised over time — check against a current authoritative source before relying on these figures.
Advertisement
After results · AD-W1Responsive · Post-tool — peak engagement

How to use the calories burned calculator

Pick your activity

Choose from 36 activities. Each one is a single code in the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, and the result names that code so you can look it up (Herrmann et al., J Sport Health Sci 2024;13(1):6-12). Speeds are the Compendium's mph bands converted to km/h. A MET value is the activity's energy cost as a multiple of resting (1 MET = resting metabolism).

Enter weight + duration

Weight in kg (lbs ÷ 2.2046), between 30 and 200. Duration in minutes — actual moving time, not total session time including breaks. The formula is the Compendium's own: kcal per minute = MET × 3.5 × kg ÷ 200. It is linear in both inputs — double the weight or the duration and the calories double.

Read calories burned

The headline number is everything spent during the session, resting metabolism included — the Compendium's METs are gross values. The "above resting" cell takes out the 1 MET you would have spent sitting still. Caveats: MET-based estimates are AVERAGES across population. The Compendium's authors say it was not developed to give the precise energy cost of an activity for an individual, and that its standard METs are not corrected for age, body mass or sex — so treat the figure as a population estimate rather than a personal measurement.

Cross-check with fitness tracker

Garmin, Apple Watch, Polar, Whoop use HR-based + accelerometer-based estimation that is calibrated to your own heart-rate response, so it will usually differ from a table value. Neither is a measurement — that would take indirect calorimetry. MET is the population-level estimate; a tracker is personalised to its model of you.

Apply for weight management

The fat-mass line divides the above-resting kcal by 7,700 — Wishnofsky's 1958 estimate of about 3,500 kcal per pound of body fat (Am J Clin Nutr 1958;6(5):542-546), converted to kilograms. The default run, 305 kcal above resting, therefore reads as about 40 g of fat-mass equivalent. It is an accounting convention, not a prediction of what your scale will show.

Advertisement
After how-to · AD-W2Responsive

MET — the scientific way to estimate exercise calories

The Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET) system gives each activity its energy cost as a multiple of rest. The Compendium of Physical Activities takes 1 MET as 3.5 mL of oxygen per kilogram per minute — the oxygen uptake of quiet sitting — and lists every activity as a standard (gross) MET, resting cost included: sleeping is coded 1.0. Brisk walking at 5.6–6.3 km/h is coded 4.8 METs; running at 12.9 km/h is 12.0. The 2024 Adult Compendium (Herrmann et al., J Sport Health Sci 2024;13(1):6-12) covers adults aged 19 to 59, lists 1,114 activities across 22 headings, and replaced the 2011 table; this tool carries 36 of its codes. The WHO 2020 guidelines ask adults for 150–300 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity or 75–150 minutes of vigorous activity (Bull et al., Br J Sports Med 2020;54(24):1451-1462); the Compendium, quoting the US guidelines, puts moderate at 3.0–5.9 METs and vigorous at 6.0 and above.

kcal per minute = MET × 3.5 × weight (kg) ÷ 200

This is the conversion the Compendium itself publishes: METs times 3.5 mL O₂/kg/min, times body weight, at about 5 kcal per litre of oxygen. A 70 kg adult running at 9.7–10.1 km/h (code 12050, 9.3 METs) for 30 minutes: 9.3 × 3.5 × 70 ÷ 200 × 30 = 342 kcal, of which 305 kcal is above resting. The same person walking at 4.5–5.5 km/h (code 17190, 3.8 METs) for 30 minutes: 140 kcal, 103 above resting. The Compendium also prints the rounder "1 MET = 1 kcal/kg/hour"; the per-minute formula works out at 1.05, so it gives figures 5% higher. Heavier people, longer sessions and higher METs all scale the result linearly. Real cost still varies with terrain, fitness, technique and heat.

The number is an estimate of energy spent, not a promise about body weight — diet decides the other side of the ledger.

Why fitness trackers disagree with MET estimates

Wearables estimate energy expenditure from heart rate and accelerometry through proprietary models calibrated to the individual wearer, so they will not match a table lookup and will not match each other. Neither approach is a measurement — that would take indirect calorimetry. MET is the standardised research framework and the one public-health guidance is written in; a tracker is personalised to its own model of you. For meaningful comparisons over time, pick one method and stay with it.

ASEAN exercise context

The Compendium gives one MET value per activity and carries no adjustment for heat or humidity. Exercising in tropical heat and humidity — the everyday case in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or Jakarta — adds the cost of thermoregulation and raises heart rate at a given pace, none of which this calculator sees. Treat the result as the table value for the activity, and expect real expenditure in heat to sit above it rather than below.

What a MET is, where the 2024 values come from and what they leave out

01

1 MET = quiet rest metabolism, taken as 3.5 mL O₂/kg/min — about 1.05 kcal/kg/hour at 5 kcal per litre of oxygen.

02

kcal/min = MET × 3.5 × kg ÷ 200 — the Compendium's own conversion. Heavier, longer and harder all scale it linearly.

03

The 2024 Adult Compendium (Herrmann et al., J Sport Health Sci 2024) replaced the 2011 table, adding 303 activities and adjusting 176 existing values from measured data.

04

WHO 2020 guideline for adults: 150–300 min/week moderate or 75–150 min vigorous activity. Moderate is 3.0–5.9 METs, vigorous 6.0 and up.

05

MET values describe a standard adult aged 19–59: the Compendium does not correct its METs for age, body mass or sex. Over-60s have their own Older Adult Compendium.

06

The METs are gross: the headline includes the 1 MET you would spend at rest. The net cell takes it out.

07

The table has one value per activity and no adjustment for heat or humidity — exercise in tropical heat costs more than it shows.

08

The formula counts only the session itself: post-exercise recovery cost (EPOC) is not included.

09

The 2024 Compendium codes sleeping at 1.0 MET (07030) and light sitting office work at 1.5 (11580) — barely above the resting baseline.

10

kcal ÷ 7,700 gives the fat-mass equivalent — Wishnofsky (1958) put a pound of body fat at about 3,500 kcal.

Frequently asked questions

  • Wearables estimate calories from your heart-rate response and movement through models calibrated to you; this tool applies a population-average MET value. The two will differ, sometimes in either direction, and neither is a measurement. For trend tracking, pick one method and stay with it.

  • The MET multiplier is the same for everyone; body weight enters the formula separately (kcal per minute = MET × 3.5 × kg ÷ 200), so a heavier person is credited with more energy for the same activity. What the table does not capture is body composition, fitness or economy of movement — the Compendium's authors say its standard METs are not corrected for age, body mass or sex, and offer a separate corrected-MET method for individuals. Two people of the same weight can differ materially in real expenditure.

  • Yes. The 2024 Compendium codes weight training at 3.5 METs for a general session of several exercises at 8–15 reps (02054) and 6.0 for power lifting or body building (02050) — modest for the time spent, because much of a session is rest between sets. The formula counts only the session itself; the recovery cost afterwards (EPOC) and any long-run change to resting expenditure are not in the number.

  • The arithmetic is unforgiving: a 70 kg adult spends about 342 kcal in 30 minutes of running at 9.7–10.1 km/h by this formula, 305 of it above resting, and a single large meal can exceed that several times over. Exercise earns its place for cardiovascular fitness, strength and health; energy balance is decided mostly by what you eat.

  • It adds cost the formula does not see. Compendium MET values carry no adjustment for heat or humidity; in tropical heat the body spends extra energy on thermoregulation and heart rate runs higher at the same pace. This tool reports the table value. Treat it as a floor in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok conditions, not a ceiling.

  • It is a population-average estimate, not a measurement. The Compendium's authors say it was built for comparing groups in research, was not developed to give one person's precise energy cost, and does not correct its METs for age, body mass or sex. Use the figure for planning and for comparing sessions against each other over weeks; do not treat a single result as your personal energy expenditure.

  • The 2024 Compendium added two codes and this tool carries both: high-intensity interval exercise at moderate effort, 7.0 METs (02210), and at vigorous effort with burpees, mountain climbers, squat jumps or Tabata, 11.0 METs (02214). Enter the whole session time and pick the effort that matches it. Post-exercise recovery cost is not included.

  • No. All inputs stay in your browser.

  • The 2024 Adult Compendium lists 1,114 activities; this tool carries 36. Pick the closest match here, or look up the exact code and MET value at pacompendium.com (Herrmann et al., J Sport Health Sci 2024;13(1):6-12) and work it through by hand: MET × 3.5 × kg ÷ 200 per minute. If you are 60 or over, the Older Adult Compendium on the same site has values measured in your age group.

  • Herrmann SD, Willis EA, Ainsworth BE, et al. 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities: a third update of the energy costs of human activities. J Sport Health Sci 2024;13(1):6-12; the full list and the unit conversions are at pacompendium.com. 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 (the table this tool used before October 2026). Bull FC, et al. WHO 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Br J Sports Med 2020;54(24):1451-1462. Wishnofsky M. Caloric equivalents of gained or lost weight. Am J Clin Nutr 1958;6(5):542-546.

Method & sources

How it computes

kcal per minute = MET × 3.5 × body weight (kg) ÷ 200, the Compendium's own conversion; each of the 36 activities is one code of the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities with its MET value. Gross (resting included) and net (MET − 1); the fat-mass equivalent is net kcal ÷ 7,700 (Wishnofsky's 3,500 kcal/lb). A population estimate, not a measurement (CaloriesBurnedKernel).

What this tool implements

  • Every activity is a single code of the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities (ages 19-59) with the MET value printed in the Compendium's own list, and the page names the code with the result. Speeds are the Compendium's mph bands converted at 1.609344 km/h per mph.
  • kcal per minute = METs × 3.5 × kg ÷ 200, as the Compendium's Unit Conversions page gives it (3.5 mL O2/kg/min per MET at about 5 kcal per litre of O2) — 1.05 kcal/kg/h per MET, 5% above the rounder "1 MET = 1 kcal/kg/hr" the same page also lists.
  • Compendium METs are standard (gross) METs: the activity's energy cost divided by 3.5 mL/kg/min, resting cost included (sleeping is coded 1.0). The headline is gross; the net figure takes out 1 MET; the fat-mass equivalent is net kcal ÷ 7,700 (Wishnofsky 1958, 3,500 kcal/lb, presented as an accounting convention).
  • Intensity bands: light < 3.0, moderate 3.0-5.9, vigorous >= 6.0 METs, as the Compendium quotes the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. No correction for age, body mass or sex — the Compendium's corrected-MET method is not applied.
  • Corrected 2026-10-19: the table was the 2011 Compendium (e.g. running 10 km/h at 10.0, brisk walking at 5.0; the 2024 codes are 9.3 and 4.8); three labels (steep hiking, martial arts, ballroom) matched no single code; kcal was MET × kg × hours (5% under the Compendium's per-minute formula); the fat-mass equivalent counted the resting share; the worked examples (350 and 122.5 kcal) are now 342 and 140 kcal; HIIT used a calisthenics proxy where 2024 has its own codes; sleeping was cited at 0.95 MET (2024: 1.0).

Sources

Advertisement
Pre-footer · AD-W3 728 × 90