Fitness & Sports Tools

The MET formula sits at the heart of every exercise calorie estimate: Metabolic Equivalent of Task multiplied by body weight in kilograms multiplied by hours. Running at 8 mph carries a MET of 11.5, so a 70 kg person burns 403 kcal in 30 minutes. A 90 kg person doing the same run burns 518 kcal, and switching to a brisk walk (MET 4.3) for the same half-hour costs 161 kcal instead. That 357-calorie gap between walking and running is not a surprise to most people, but the gap between running and swimming butterfly (MET 13.8), the highest-intensity activity in the table, usually is.

Calories Burned by Activity covers 38 exercises from the 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities across six groups: Walking, Running, Cycling, Swimming, Gym and Other. Each entry in the grouped selector shows its MET value, so the comparison is visible before committing to a choice. Calorie & TDEE Calculator from the Health & Body category sits alongside it here: it computes how many calories a person needs each day to maintain their weight, which is the other half of the same question.