What the calories burned calculator does
The calories burned calculator estimates the energy you use during exercise and daily activities using MET values — the metabolic equivalents published in the Compendium of Physical Activities, the same dataset researchers and clinicians rely on. Choose from more than 60 activities across walking, running, cycling, gym work, sports, swimming, classes and everyday chores, enter your weight and how long you went, and the tool returns a calorie estimate along with per-minute and per-hour rates.
The MET formula
The calculation is straightforward:
Calories per minute = MET × 3.5 × weight (kg) ÷ 200
Multiply by the number of minutes for the total. One MET is your resting energy expenditure — roughly 1 kcal per kg of body weight per hour, the cost of sitting quietly. An activity rated at 8 METs uses about eight times that energy. Brisk walking is roughly 5 METs, cycling at a moderate pace around 8, and running a 10-minute mile about 9.8.
Why body weight matters so much
The same activity burns more calories for a heavier person because moving more mass takes more energy. A 90 kg person running for 30 minutes burns substantially more than a 60 kg person doing the identical run. That is why every credible calorie-burn estimate scales with body weight, and why generic "running burns 300 calories" claims are misleading without knowing the person's size.
How accurate is it?
MET values are solid population averages, but real burn varies by 10–20% between individuals based on fitness level, movement efficiency, terrain, temperature and how hard you actually push. A fit runner uses oxygen more economically than a beginner at the same speed. Treat the number as a well-grounded estimate rather than a precise measurement — and remember that fitness trackers, while more personalised via heart rate, are not perfectly accurate either.
Using calorie burn sensibly
A common mistake is "eating back" every exercise calorie, which often erases a deficit because both the burn estimate and the food estimate carry error. If weight management is your goal, treat exercise as a health and fitness habit and control intake primarily through diet. Activity is fantastic for cardiovascular health, mood, strength and longevity — its calorie burn is a bonus, not the main lever for fat loss.
Use with the other tools
To set daily calorie needs including activity, use the TDEE calculator, which folds typical activity into a daily multiplier. For a goal-based calorie target, the calorie calculator does the math, and the food calorie calculator tracks intake.