How many calories do I burn?
- 1Pick your activity — walking speeds, running, cycling, swimming, sports, gym classes and housework are all there.
- 2Enter how many minutes you did it.
- 3Enter your weight (kg or lb).
- 4Optionally enter calories to burn — a samosa, a cola, a slice of cake — to see how many minutes it takes.
How are calories burned calculated?
- 01Calories per minute = MET × 3.5 × weight kg ÷ 200
- 02Calories burned = calories per minute × minutes
- 03Extra above resting = (MET − 1) × 3.5 × weight kg ÷ 200 × minutes
- 04Minutes for a target = target kcal ÷ calories per minute
A MET (metabolic equivalent) compares an activity with sitting quietly: 1 MET is about 3.5 ml of oxygen per kg of body weight per minute, roughly 1 kcal per kg per hour. Walking briskly is 4.8 METs, so it burns about 4.8 times as much energy as resting.
The MET values come from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities (Herrmann et al.), the standard list researchers use, built from hundreds of measured studies. Multiplying by 3.5 and your weight and dividing by 200 turns METs into kilocalories per minute — the same conversion the Compendium gives.
The total includes the energy you would have used anyway. If you add exercise to a daily calorie budget, use the “extra above resting” figure so it isn't counted twice.
Prayer (salah) isn't listed separately in the Compendium, so it isn't included here; light activities such as standing or slow walking are about 1.3–2.3 METs.
Example: calories burned walking 30 minutes
Walking briskly for 30 minutes at 70 kg burns about 176 kcal — 4.8 METs × 3.5 × 70 ÷ 200 × 30.
That is about 1.3 medium rotis, or 353 kcal an hour.
Good to know
- Walking is the easiest habit: 30 minutes of brisk walking a day burns about 1,200 kcal a week for a 70 kg person.
- Strength training burns fewer calories during the session but helps you keep muscle while losing weight.
- It is much easier to eat 500 kcal than to burn it — combine exercise with smaller portions.
- Pick something you enjoy — cricket with friends or a daily walk after dinner — because doing it often matters most.
Calories burned — common questions
How many calories does walking burn?
About 3–5 kcal a minute for a 70 kg adult, depending on speed: 30 minutes of brisk walking (5.6–6.3 km/h) burns about 175 kcal.
Walking se kitni calories burn hoti hain? (How many calories does walking burn?)
70 kg wala insaan 30 minute tez chalne se taqreeban 175 calories jalata hai. Apna wazan aur waqt upar daal kar dekhein. (A 70 kg person burns about 175 kcal in 30 minutes of brisk walking.)
How many calories does 1 hour of cricket burn?
Cricket is 4.8 METs in the 2024 Compendium — about 350 kcal an hour for a 70 kg player (batting, bowling and fielding together).
How many minutes of exercise to burn a samosa?
A medium samosa has about 250 kcal. A 70 kg person burns that in about 43 minutes of brisk walking or 17 minutes of skipping rope.
Does skipping rope burn more than running?
Skipping at a moderate pace (11.8 METs) burns about as much as running at 11–13 km/h — around 14 kcal a minute for a 70 kg person.
Are fitness watch calorie numbers accurate?
Watches often overestimate exercise calories by 20 % or more. MET-based estimates like these are averages too, so treat both as a guide.
Sources
- Herrmann SD, Willis EA, Ainsworth BE et al. – 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities (J Sport Health Sci, 2024)
- Compendium of Physical Activities – unit conversions: kcal/min = METs × 3.5 × kg ÷ 200
- USDA FoodData Central – chapati or roti, plain (for the roti comparison)
Formulas last reviewed: September 30, 2026 ·How we check our formulas