How many calories does walking burn?

Walking at 3 mph is about 3.5 METs, so a 155 lb person burns roughly 4.3 calories a minute, or about 130 in 30 minutes.

Why is my watch showing a different number?

Wearables estimate energy from heart rate and motion sensors, which is a different method with its own error margin. Neither is exact.

Should I eat back the calories I burned?

If your calorie target already uses an activity multiplier that includes training, no. Eating them back on top double-counts the same exercise.

Does body weight change calories burned?

Yes. MET values scale with body mass, so a heavier person burns more doing the identical activity.

Calories Burned Calculator

Estimate calories burned in a session from activity type, body weight and duration.

Enter your details and your result will appear here.

What Is Calories Burned?

This calculator estimates the calories burned in a session from the activity you did, how long you did it and how much you weigh. It uses MET values, the standard way exercise energy cost is published.

Understanding Your Calories Burned Result

A MET is a multiple of resting energy use: 1 MET is roughly the oxygen uptake of sitting quietly, about 3.5 ml of oxygen per kg per minute. Walking briskly is about 5 METs, running a 10-minute mile is about 9.8. Because METs are expressed per kilogram, a heavier person burns proportionally more doing the same activity. The values here come from the 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities, the reference list compiled by Ainsworth and colleagues.

How Is Calories Burned Calculated?

Calories = MET x 3.5 x weight (kg) / 200 x minutes

Methodology

Calories per minute are calculated as MET x 3.5 x body weight in kilograms divided by 200, then multiplied by the duration in minutes. That is the standard conversion from oxygen uptake to energy, where 1 litre of oxygen is approximately 5 calories.

Worked Example

A 180 lb (81.6 kg) runner doing 30 minutes at 6 mph (9.8 METs) burns 9.8 x 3.5 x 81.6 / 200 = 14 calories a minute, or about 420 calories for the session.

Important Limitations

MET values describe an average person doing a typical version of an activity, so real cost varies with terrain, technique, fitness and body composition. The figure includes the resting calories you would have burned anyway, which overstates the true additional cost by roughly 1 MET. Wearable estimates use different methods and will not match. Do not add these calories on top of an activity-adjusted TDEE, or you will count them twice.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many calories does walking burn?: Walking at 3 mph is about 3.5 METs, so a 155 lb person burns roughly 4.3 calories a minute, or about 130 in 30 minutes.
Why is my watch showing a different number?: Wearables estimate energy from heart rate and motion sensors, which is a different method with its own error margin. Neither is exact.
Should I eat back the calories I burned?: If your calorie target already uses an activity multiplier that includes training, no. Eating them back on top double-counts the same exercise.
Does body weight change calories burned?: Yes. MET values scale with body mass, so a heavier person burns more doing the identical activity.