Calories Burned Per Minute of Walking

The number of calories you burn walking for one minute, 30 minutes, or an hour depends on how much you weigh and your walking speed. While this may not matter to everyone, it's important information if you are walking for weight loss.

Check the charts below or use our calculator to find out how many calories you are burning on your walk. If you prefer, you can see how many calories you burn based on pedometer steps or the calories burned based on miles walked instead.

Again, your weight and speed are the two factors that determine this number. You can use an app or other methods to measure your walking speed.

Walking at 3 mph and 3.5 mph is typical for a pleasant stroll or a healthy walk.

Now, look at the difference when you take the speed up to brisk walking paces. You burn more calories per minute and you also cover more mileage in the same period of time. Your weight is still the biggest factor in determining how many calories you burn while walking.

These calorie calculations were performed using calorie burn rates found in 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities: A Second Update of Codes and MET Values. The calculations use the 2011 equivalent tables.

This activity calculator allows you to quickly calculate your personal calorie burn rates based on your walking pace (slow, moderate, brisk, or very brisk), the duration of your walk, and your body weight.

Curious about how many calories are burned by other types of activities? Simply select another activity from the dropdown menu.

Going faster will allow you to go farther and, therefore, burn more calories in a set period of time. You can boost your walking speed with improvements in your posture, use of arm motion, and changes to your walking stride. Soon you'll be covering more distance in less time. That will let you burn more calories during a 30-minute workout.

Additional tips for burning more calories while walking include using Nordic walking poles and learning the racewalking technique.

A lot of good comes from walking for even just a few minutes. Don't be discouraged from walking because you think the number of calories burned is too small. The benefits go beyond this. Simply reducing your sitting time will help keep your muscles, joints, blood circulation, and bones in good working order. By walking more and sitting less throughout the day, you'll burn more calories, reduce your health risks, and do your body good.