What is a MET? How activity ratings turn into calories burned
One rating per activity, one formula, and a clear rule for when the result belongs in your food budget.
What is a MET?
A MET, short for metabolic equivalent of task, rates how hard an activity is compared with rest. One MET is the energy you use sitting quietly. An activity rated 4 METs uses four times as much energy per minute as sitting still, and one rated 10 METs uses ten times as much.
Because the rating is a ratio, it applies to anyone. Your body weight turns it into calories. With the standard formula, 1 MET works out to 1 kcal per kg of body weight per hour, so a 70 kg (154 lb) adult uses about 70 kcal (293 kJ) an hour sitting quietly. That resting baseline is closely related to your basal metabolic rate, the energy your body uses at complete rest.
The values come from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, the reference list behind the activity tables on this blog. In the Compendium, both sitting quietly and sleeping are rated 1.0 MET.
How to calculate calories burned from METs
Two formulas cover almost every use:
- Gross calories: MET × body weight in kg × hours. This is everything you burned during the activity, including your resting energy.
- Net calories: (MET − 1) × body weight in kg × hours. This is the extra energy the activity cost above sitting still.
Convert minutes to hours by dividing by 60, and pounds to kilograms by dividing by 2.2. To turn kcal into kJ, multiply by 4.184.
The physical activity guidelines sort activities into three intensity bands by MET: light is under 3.0 METs, moderate is 3.0 to 5.9 METs, and vigorous is 6.0 METs or more. That is why a brisk walk counts as moderate activity and a run counts as vigorous.
MET values for common activities
The table lists Compendium values with gross energy for one hour at 70 kg (154 lb). At that weight, kcal per hour is simply MET × 70.
| Activity (Compendium) | MET | Intensity | 70 kg, 1 hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sitting quietly, general | 1.0 | Resting baseline | 70 kcal (293 kJ) |
| Standing quietly (standing in a line) | 1.3 | Light | 91 kcal (381 kJ) |
| Yoga, Hatha | 2.3 | Light | 161 kcal (674 kJ) |
| Vacuuming, general, moderate effort | 3.0 | Moderate | 210 kcal (879 kJ) |
| Resistance (weight) training, multiple exercises, 8-15 reps at varied resistance | 3.5 | Moderate | 245 kcal (1,025 kJ) |
| Mowing lawn, general, walking, moderate effort | 5.5 | Moderate | 385 kcal (1,611 kJ) |
| Swimming laps, freestyle, slow, recreational | 5.8 | Moderate | 406 kcal (1,699 kJ) |
| Tennis, general, moderate effort | 6.8 | Vigorous | 476 kcal (1,992 kJ) |
| Running, 6-6.3 mph (10 min/mile); 9.7 to 10.1 km/h | 9.3 | Vigorous | 651 kcal (2,724 kJ) |
| Rope jumping, moderate pace, general, 100 to 120 skips/min, 2 foot skip, plain bounce | 11.8 | Vigorous | 826 kcal (3,456 kJ) |
The spread is wide. Moderate rope jumping costs nearly 12 times the energy of sitting, while Hatha yoga costs a little over twice. For full tables by speed and body weight, see calories burned walking, calories burned running and calories burned cycling.
Where MET values come from
The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities is the third update of the Compendium. It assigns a MET value to 1,114 activities grouped under 22 major headings, from bicycling and dancing to home repair, lawn and garden work and water activities.
Each entry has a five-digit code, a heading and a description. Many descriptions keep US units, such as "Walking, 3.5 to 3.9 mph, level, brisk, firm surface, walking for exercise". Convert with 1 mph = 1.609 km/h, so that walk is 5.6 to 6.3 km/h. You can browse every entry on the 2024 Adult Compendium website.
A MET value is an average for adults doing that activity, not a measurement of you. Two people of the same weight doing the same activity get the same estimate, even if one is much fitter than the other.
Worked example: calories burned in kcal and kJ
A 60 kg (132 lb) adult swims slow, recreational freestyle laps for 45 minutes. The Compendium rates that at 5.8 METs.
- Convert the time. 45 ÷ 60 = 0.75 hours.
- Work out gross energy. 5.8 × 60 kg × 0.75 h = 261 kcal. In kilojoules, 261 × 4.184 = 1,092 kJ.
- Work out net energy. (5.8 − 1) × 60 × 0.75 = 4.8 × 45 = 216 kcal (904 kJ).
- Check the gap. 261 − 216 = 45 kcal, which is 1 MET × 60 kg × 0.75 h. That is what this swimmer would have used sitting on the pool deck instead.
Body weight scales the answer in a straight line. The same 45 minutes at 100 kg (220 lb) is 5.8 × 100 × 0.75 = 435 kcal (1,820 kJ) gross and 360 kcal (1,506 kJ) net. The MET rating stays the same; the heavier body uses more energy at every level, rest included.
Why your watch, the gym machine and the MET table disagree
Three tools can give three different numbers for the same workout. None of them measures your energy use directly.
- Gross or net. A MET table gives gross energy unless you subtract the resting part. Devices that split resting and active energy show a smaller active figure for the same session.
- Different inputs. The MET method uses only the activity, your weight and the time. A watch runs its own model on heart rate, motion and your profile. A gym machine knows only what you type in, so a skipped or outdated weight changes its answer.
- Averages, not individuals. Fitness, technique, terrain, wind and rest between efforts all move your real cost up or down from the Compendium average.
- Your own memory. In one study, adults with obesity over-reported their physical activity by 51% on average. Overrating pace or session length inflates any formula.
Treat every calories-burned figure as an estimate with a margin. The Apple Watch calories guide explains what the watch numbers mean.
How to use MET numbers in your food budget
Your daily calorie target already includes your resting energy, and usually some activity too. So the fair answer to "what did this workout add" is the net figure, not the gross one.
- If the activity level behind your target already reflects your regular exercise, do not add those sessions again.
- If you chose a low activity level and exercise on top of it, the net figure, (MET − 1) × kg × hours, is a reasonable estimate of the extra.
- In Cal.AI, your target comes from the Mifflin-St Jeor equation and the activity level you pick at setup. On iPhone, the app can read active energy from Apple Health, and you choose whether burned calories are added to your daily budget. Pick one method and stick with it.
- After two to three weeks, compare your weight trend with the plan. If they disagree, adjust the target to match the trend.
The full decision is laid out in should you eat back exercise calories.
Common mistakes
- Treating gross calories as the extra burn. For the 60 kg swimmer above, 45 of the 261 kcal would have been used at rest anyway.
- Putting pounds into the formula. 132 lb must become 60 kg first, or the answer comes out 2.2 times too high.
- Rating a whole session at its hardest moment. Rest between sets or intervals belongs at a lower MET.
- Picking a faster speed from a table than you actually moved. Time yourself over a known distance before you choose.
- Reading a MET estimate as exact. It is a useful average, not a reading from your body.
Frequently asked questions
What does 1 MET mean?
One MET is the energy your body uses sitting quietly at rest. With the standard formula it equals about 1 kcal per kilogram of body weight per hour, so a 70 kg (154 lb) adult uses about 70 kcal (293 kJ) an hour at rest. An activity rated 5 METs uses five times that amount for as long as you keep it up.
How many METs is brisk walking?
The 2024 Compendium rates walking at 3.5 to 3.9 mph (5.6 to 6.3 km/h) on a level, firm surface at 4.8 METs, which sits in the moderate band of 3.0 to 5.9 METs. A moderate pace of 2.8 to 3.4 mph (4.5 to 5.5 km/h) is 3.8 METs. Jogging at a self-selected pace is 7.5 METs, which is vigorous.
What is the difference between gross and net calories burned?
Gross calories, MET × kg × hours, include the energy you would have used at rest during the same time. Net calories, (MET − 1) × kg × hours, count only the extra. For 45 minutes of slow freestyle laps at 60 kg, gross is 261 kcal and net is 216 kcal. Use the net figure when you decide whether to change your food budget.
Are calories burned from METs accurate?
They are sound averages, not personal measurements. A MET value describes a typical adult doing that activity, so your real cost can be higher or lower depending on fitness, technique, terrain and rest breaks. Use MET estimates to compare activities and plan your week, then let your weight trend over two to three weeks show whether your calorie target is right.
Sources
- 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. PubMed
- Compendium of Physical Activities. 2024 Adult Compendium. Compendium
- Lichtman SW, et al. Discrepancy between self-reported and actual caloric intake and exercise in obese subjects. N Engl J Med. 1992;327(27):1893-1898. PubMed
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