Question

A 116 kg friend of yours contacts you saying they want to start and exercise program, exercising at 4 METs on a treadmill and burn 321 kcals every exercise period. How long (mins) will they have to exercise to burn 321 kcals?

Answer 1

• METs = metabolic equivalents.
• One MET is defined as the energy you use when you’re resting or sitting still.
• An activity that has a value of 4 METs means you’re exerting four times the energy than you would if you were sitting still.
• Your body will burn 3.5ml of oxygen per kg of bodyweight per minute when sitting still and this is equivalent to one MET.
• The formula to use is: METs x 3.5 x (your body weight in kg) / 200 = calories burned per minute.
• Therefore for 116kg human, exercising at 4 METs on a treadmill
• 4×3.5×116/200 = 8.12 cals/min
• This human wants to burn 321 ×1000 cals, so 321000 cals/(8.12 cals/min)=321000/8.12 min = 39532.0197 min.