Calories burned
standing, packing/unpacking boxes
279 kcal / hour Standing, packing/unpacking boxes burns approximately 279 calories per hour for a 70 kg (154 lb) adult, and 140 calories in 30 minutes. Across the normal adult weight range the hourly figure runs from about 200 to 479 kcal.
It carries a MET value of 3.8 in the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities.
SOURCE·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·REVIEWED JUL 2026
MET 3.8 × 3.5 × 70 kg ÷ 200 = 4.65 kcal/min × 30 min = 140 kcal
Source—2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities—code 05149—ACSM energy equation—retrieved 2026-07
How this is worked out
- Take the MET value for standing, packing/unpacking boxes from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities: MET 3.8.
- Convert MET to a rate using the ACSM relationship: multiply by 3.5, then by body mass in kilograms, then divide by 200. That gives kilocalories per minute.
- Multiply the rate by the number of minutes actually spent.
- Round to whole kilocalories. Nothing else is applied — no age factor, no sex factor, no proprietary adjustment, because the underlying data does not support one.
kcal/min = MET × 3.5 × mass(kg) ÷ 200 kcal = kcal/min × minutes 3.8 × 3.5 × 70 ÷ 200 = 4.65 kcal/min 4.65 × 60 min = 279 kcal
Calories burned standing, packing/unpacking boxes by body weight
Energy cost scales with the mass you move, so body weight changes the answer more than anything else.
| Body weight | 15 min | 30 min | 45 min | 60 min | 90 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 kg (110 lb) | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 299 |
| 60 kg (132 lb) | 60 | 120 | 180 | 239 | 359 |
| 70 kg (154 lb) | 70 | 140 | 209 | 279 | 419 |
| 80 kg (176 lb) | 80 | 160 | 239 | 319 | 479 |
| 90 kg (198 lb) | 90 | 180 | 269 | 359 | 539 |
| 100 kg (220 lb) | 100 | 200 | 299 | 399 | 599 |
| 110 kg (243 lb) | 110 | 219 | 329 | 439 | 658 |
| 120 kg (265 lb) | 120 | 239 | 359 | 479 | 718 |
Figures in kilocalories (the "calories" on food labels). The highlighted row is the 70 kg reference adult used in the headline figure; the highlighted column is one hour.
SOURCE·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·REVIEWED JUL 2026
What 279 calories an hour actually means
At MET 3.8, standing, packing/unpacking boxes counts as moderate activity — it uses about 3.8 times the energy your body burns sitting still. For a 70 kg adult that works out to roughly 5 kcal per minute, or 279 kcal across a full hour.
Within home activities, that ranks 13th of 58 activities by energy cost, a little below walking (MET 4) and above carrying groceries (MET 3.5).
Put differently: one hour of standing, packing/unpacking boxes costs about the same energy as 57 minutes of ordinary walking.
On the food side, a slice of pizza (about 285 kcal) takes roughly 61 minutes of standing, packing/unpacking boxes to offset at that body weight. That framing is useful for scale, but it is worth saying plainly: exercise and diet are not a ledger that cancels neatly, and appetite tends to rise with activity.
A number this clean is a model. It does not know your gradient, your gear, the wind, or how hard you were actually trying.
Questions
How many calories does standing, packing/unpacking boxes burn per hour?
About 279 kcal per hour for a 70 kg (154 lb) adult, using the Compendium MET value of 3.8. A 90 kg adult burns closer to 359 kcal in the same hour, because energy cost scales almost directly with body mass.
How many calories does 30 minutes of standing, packing/unpacking boxes burn?
Roughly 140 kcal at 70 kg, 120 kcal at 60 kg and 200 kcal at 100 kg. Halving the time halves the calories — the relationship is linear.
What is the MET value of standing, packing/unpacking boxes?
3.8. One MET is the energy you use sitting quietly, so MET 3.8 means 3.8 times that rate.
Is this an exact number of calories?
No, and no calculator can give you one. MET values are population averages measured in laboratory conditions; your own figure varies with fitness, technique, terrain, temperature and body composition. Treat these numbers as a solid estimate for planning, not a precise measurement — and treat any device or site claiming three-digit precision with suspicion.
MET value from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities (activity code 05149). Calories computed as MET × 3.5 × weight kg ÷ 200 per minute. General information only — not medical, fitness or nutrition advice. Calorie figures are population estimates and vary between individuals.
