Compendium category · 72 activities

Occupation

All 72 occupation activities in the Compendium, ranked by energy cost. The hardest is skindiving or scuba diving as a frogman at 882 kcal an hour; the middle of the pack sits near 257.

Every occupation activity ranked by energy cost, for a 70 kg adult. JUL 2026
#	Activity	MET	30 min	1 hour
1	Skindiving or SCUBA diving as a frogman	12	441	882
2	Counter terrorism maneuvers	9	331	662
3	Mining	8.5	312	625
4	Carrying heavy loads	8	294	588
5	Carrying moderate loads up stairs	8	294	588
6	Fire fighter	8	294	588
7	Forestry	8	294	588
8	Using heavy tools such as shovel	7.8	287	573
9	Shoveling	6.9	254	507
10	Steel mill	6.8	250	500
11	Horse racing	6.3	232	463
12	Using heavy power tools such as pneumatic…	6.3	232	463
13	Walking or walk downstairs or standing	6.25	230	459
14	Soldiers	6.15	226	452
15	Jog/walk combination	6	221	441
16	Military activities	6	221	441
17	Horse grooming	5.9	217	434
18	Horseback riding	5.65	208	415
19	Massage therapist	5.5	202	404
20	Coal mining	5.4	198	397
21	Airborne Shuffle	5	184	368
22	Machine tooling	5	184	368
23	Apple Harvesting	4.8	176	353
24	Furriery	4.8	176	353
25	Manual or unskilled labor	4.5	165	331
26	Standing, moderate/heavy tasks	4.5	165	331
27	Horse	4.3	158	316
28	Masonary	4.3	158	316
29	Truck driving	4.25	156	312
30	Standing, moderate effort	4.15	153	305
31	Building road	4	147	294
32	Chambermaid	4	147	294
33	Garbage collector	3.8	140	279
34	Police Officer	3.8	140	279
35	Farming	3.65	134	268
36	Walking on job	3.65	134	268
37	Lawn keeper	3.5	129	257
38	Orange grove work	3.5	129	257
39	Electrical work; plumbing moved to11516	3.3	121	243
40	Laundry worker	3.3	121	243
41	Standing, light/moderate effort	3.3	121	243
42	Warehouse/Shipping Center	3.3	121	243
43	Construction	3.15	116	232
44	Custodial work	3.05	112	224
45	Airline flight attendant	3	110	221
46	Bakery	3	110	221
47	Kitchen maid	3	110	221
48	Locksmith	3	110	221
49	Machine tooling light-to-moderate effort	3	110	221
50	Plumbing activities	3	110	221
51	Working in scene shop	3	110	221
52	Patient care	2.9	107	213
53	Sitting, teaching stretching or yoga	2.8	103	206
54	Cook	2.5	92	184
55	Mail delivery	2.5	92	184
56	Masonry	2.5	92	184
57	Operating heavy duty equipment	2.5	92	184
58	Tailoring	2.5	92	184
59	Bookbinding	2.3	85	169
60	Mail carrier	2.3	85	169
61	Police	2.25	83	165
62	Printing	2	74	147
63	Shoe repair	2	74	147
64	Sitting tasks	2	74	147
65	Engineer	1.8	66	132
66	Hairstylist	1.8	66	132
67	Manager	1.8	66	132
68	Standing tasks	1.8	66	132
69	Sitting meetings	1.3	48	96
70	Sitting, computer work	1.3	48	96
71	Standing workstation	1.3	48	96
72	Typing	1.3	48	96

Kilocalories for a 70 kg adult. Click any activity for the full weight and intensity breakdown.

SOURCE·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·REVIEWED JUL 2026

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