It is a cool evening, and you just got back from a 30-minute walk around the neighborhood. Your legs feel good. Your head feels clearer. And then the question pops up: how many calories does walking burn, anyway? Was that walk worth 50 calories or 250?
Here's the good news: you can work it out with one short formula and a number from a research list. Let me show you how. Or plug your own walk into our calories burned calculator and get the answer in seconds.
How many calories does walking burn? The simple formula
Researchers use a unit called a MET (metabolic equivalent of task) to describe how hard an activity is. The Compendium of Physical Activities defines 1 MET as 1 calorie per kg of body weight per hour. That is roughly the energy you use sitting quietly.
An activity rated 4 METs costs about four times what sitting does. So the math is:
Calories burned ≈ MET × your weight in kg × hours
To get your weight in kg, multiply pounds by 0.4536. So 150 lb is about 68 kg.
MET values for walking
The MET values below come from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, published by Herrmann and colleagues in the Journal of Sport and Health Science. It lists 1,114 activities, and 912 of them are based on measured values. Its authors describe it as useful for research, public health, and consumer health technology.
| Type of walking | Speed | METs |
|---|---|---|
| Slow walk | 2.5 mph (4.0 km/h) | 3.0 |
| Moderate pace | 2.8 to 3.4 mph (4.5 to 5.5 km/h) | 3.8 |
| Brisk pace | 3.5 to 3.9 mph (5.6 to 6.3 km/h) | 4.8 |
| Very brisk | 4.0 to 4.4 mph (6.4 to 7.1 km/h) | 5.5 |
| Walking the dog | varies | 3.0 |
| Hiking | varies | 6.0 |
| Climbing stairs | general | 6.8 |
Notice how quickly the numbers climb. Going from a moderate pace to a brisk one bumps the MET value from 3.8 to 4.8, about 26% more.
A worked example: a 30-minute brisk walk
When I ran the numbers for a 150 lb (68 kg) woman taking a 30-minute brisk walk, here is how it worked out:
- MET for brisk walking = 4.8
- Weight = 68 kg
- Time = 30 minutes = 0.5 hours
- 4.8 × 68 × 0.5 = about 163 calories
That's it. Once you do this once, you can do it for any walk.
Calories burned walking for 30 minutes, by weight and speed
Here is a quick chart using the same formula. For a 1-hour walk, just double the number.
| Body weight | Slow (3.0 METs) | Moderate (3.8 METs) | Brisk (4.8 METs) | Very brisk (5.5 METs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 130 lb (59 kg) | 88 | 112 | 142 | 162 |
| 150 lb (68 kg) | 102 | 129 | 163 | 187 |
| 200 lb (90.7 kg) | 136 | 172 | 218 | 249 |
Two things jump out:
- Weight matters. A 200 lb (90.7 kg) person burns about a third more than a 150 lb (68 kg) person at the same pace, because the formula scales directly with body weight.
- Speed matters. A brisk walk burns about 60% more than a slow stroll in the same 30 minutes.
Other kinds of walking
Not every walk is a steady loop on flat ground. Here is what a 150 lb (68 kg) person might burn with a few common variations:
- Walking the dog, 30 minutes: 3.0 × 68 × 0.5 = about 102 calories
- Hiking, 1 hour: 6.0 × 68 × 1 = about 408 calories
- Climbing stairs, 10 minutes: 6.8 × 68 × (10 ÷ 60) = about 77 calories
Stairs pack a lot into a short time. Ten minutes of stairs burns close to half of what a 30-minute brisk walk does.
The "extra" calories: a detail most people miss
This is where it gets interesting. Because 1 MET is roughly your burn while sitting quietly, the formula counts the calories you would have burned anyway, even on the couch.
If you want just the extra calories from the walk, subtract 1 from the MET value:
- Brisk walk, 150 lb (68 kg), 30 minutes: (4.8 - 1) × 68 × 0.5 = about 129 extra calories
That is still a solid number. It is just a bit more honest than the headline figure. Keep this in mind when you log a walk against your food.
How to tell your walking speed
You don't need a gadget. Time yourself over a known distance:
- 1 mile (1.6 km) in 20 minutes = 3.0 mph (4.8 km/h), a moderate pace
- 1 mile (1.6 km) in about 17 minutes = about 3.5 mph (5.6 km/h), the start of brisk
A school track, a park loop with mile markers, or a mapping app can give you the distance.
If you're over 60
Here's something worth knowing. The 2024 Adult Compendium was built for adults aged 19 to 59. The authors removed data from people 60 and older, and the Compendium team has released a separate Older Adult Compendium for people 60 and up.
So if you are over 60, treat the numbers in this guide as a rough estimate. They are still great for comparing one walk to another and tracking your progress.
The CDC recommends that adults 65 and older get at least 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, such as 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. It also recommends at least 2 days of muscle-strengthening activity and activities to improve balance. Our guide for adults 50 and older and our article on protein after 50 pair well with a walking habit, since protein and exercise work together to help keep muscle.
If you have heart, lung, or joint problems, or you are just starting out, ask your doctor what kind of activity is safe for you.
What a walking habit adds up to
The CDC recommends that adults get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity, such as brisk walking, every week. For example, 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.
For a 150 lb (68 kg) person walking briskly, that looks like this:
- 4.8 × 68 × 2.5 hours = about 816 calories a week
That won't replace a sensible eating plan, but it is a real, steady boost to your daily burn. If weight loss is your goal, our guide on how to calculate a calorie deficit shows how walking and food fit together.
What this means for you
- Pick up the pace when you can. Moving from moderate to brisk is the easiest way to burn more in the same time.
- Add hills or stairs. Short bursts on stairs make a big difference.
- Think in weeks, not walks. A single walk is modest. Five walks a week add up.
- Log the extra calories if you track food. Subtract 1 from the MET for a more honest number.
My take
Based on what I've seen in the research, walking is underrated. It needs no gym, no gear beyond decent shoes, and it counts toward the CDC's weekly goal. The calorie numbers aren't huge per walk. But few habits are this easy to keep for years, and that is where the real payoff lives.
The bottom line
So, how many calories does walking burn? For a 150 lb (68 kg) person, roughly 100 to 190 calories per 30 minutes, depending on speed. Heavier people and faster walkers burn more. Use MET × kg × hours for any walk, or let our calories burned calculator do the math for you. Then lace up your shoes and enjoy the next one.