How many calories are burned walking 5,000 steps?

Ask anyone how many steps they had today and they'll know exactly what you mean. That's because in today's increasingly sedentary world, how many steps someone takes in any given day has become an important indicator of how active and physically fit they might be. And thanks to devices like smartphones, smart watches, and other fitness trackers, step tracking has become as easy as carrying or wearing a device and letting it track your activity automatically without giving it a second thought.

Of course, it's one thing to say you walked 5,000 steps, and it's quite another to know how many calories you burned doing so. Any guesses?

Based on an average stride length of 2.5 feet, body weight of 180 pounds, and a walking speed of 4 mph, 5,000 steps would burn approximately 242 calories.

While this can give a pretty good estimate for an average person, not everyone weighs the same or walks the same speed. Read on to view chart for different weights and walking/running speeds or calculate another amount.

Calories burned walking 5,000 steps at different speeds and body weights

Because calories burned is related to the time and intensity of your activity as well as your own physical characteristics, the amount above is just based on averages. In the chart below, you can get a better idea of how many calories you burned at a particular walking speed and body weight. Please keep in mind these are estimates as well; calculating calories burned is based on good scientific research but is an inexact science.

You may notice that sometimes walking at a slower pace burns more calories than walking at a faster pace. This isn't a mistake. Instead, it shows that you may burn slightly more calories by walking slower for longer instead of walking faster for less time.

Calories burned running 5,000 steps at different speeds and body weights

While most runners measure their distance in miles or kilometres, some may choose to measure it in steps.

Where this data came from

The estimates on this page come from MET, or metabolic equivalent, research. Put simply, one MET is defined as 1 kcal/kg/hour and is roughly equivalent to the energy cost of sitting quietly. Every activity has a MET associated with it based on the available research. In the example used at the top of this page, walking 4 MPH has a MET of 5.

To come up with an estimate of how many calories are burned walking a particular number of steps, you would use the following formula:

number of steps x step length / 5,280 / MPH x MET x weight in kg

In all of our examples, we rounded to the nearest whole calorie.

Explore step amounts similar to 5,000

Sources

• Compendium of Physical Activities - walking
• Compendium of Physical Activities - running

Disclaimer

The information on this page is intended to be an educational reference and is not to be taken as medical advice. If you think you're having a medical emergency, please call 911 immediately.