Walking tool
Walking Calories Calculator
A quick, honest estimate of the energy a walk uses. It runs on the same formula as Step Step's workout recorder: the walk's MET value from the Compendium of Physical Activities, times your weight, times the time you spent moving.
How this works
The formula
One MET is the energy you use sitting still, roughly 1 kilocalorie per kilogram of body weight per hour. Walking runs from about 2.8 METs for a gentle stroll to 5 for very brisk walking. The calculator multiplies the MET value by your weight and by the hours you were moving.
kcal = MET × kg × h
Total or above resting?
The total includes the energy you would have burned anyway just by being alive. The figure above resting takes that away, so it is the fairer number if you are thinking about a walk's effect on your weight. Fitness trackers differ on which one they show, which is one reason their numbers disagree.
kcal = (MET − 1) × kg × h
Starting from steps
If you start from steps, the calculator turns them into minutes using a typical cadence for your pace: 80 steps a minute for easy, 100 for normal, 120 for brisk and 130 for very brisk.
References
- Ainsworth, B.E. et al. (2011). 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities: a second update of codes and MET values. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 43(8), 1575 to 1581. Read the abstract
- Herrmann, S.D. et al. (2024). 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities: a third update of the energy costs of human activities. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 13(1), 6 to 12. Visit the Compendium
For healthy adults. This is general information, not medical advice.