Calories burned
standing - reading
74 kcal / hour Standing - reading burns approximately 74 calories per hour for a 70 kg (154 lb) adult, and 37 calories in 30 minutes. Across the normal adult weight range the hourly figure runs from about 53 to 126 kcal.
It carries a MET value of 1 in the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities.
Calories burned standing - reading 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) | 13 | 26 | 39 | 53 | 79 |
| 60 kg (132 lb) | 16 | 32 | 47 | 63 | 95 |
| 70 kg (154 lb) | 18 | 37 | 55 | 74 | 110 |
| 80 kg (176 lb) | 21 | 42 | 63 | 84 | 126 |
| 90 kg (198 lb) | 24 | 47 | 71 | 95 | 142 |
| 100 kg (220 lb) | 26 | 53 | 79 | 105 | 158 |
| 110 kg (243 lb) | 29 | 58 | 87 | 116 | 173 |
| 120 kg (265 lb) | 32 | 63 | 95 | 126 | 189 |
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.
What 74 calories an hour actually means
At MET 1, standing - reading counts as light activity — it uses about 1 times the energy your body burns sitting still. For a 70 kg adult that works out to roughly 1 kcal per minute, or 74 kcal across a full hour.
Within miscellaneous, that ranks 26th of 26 activities by energy cost, a little below standing: talking in person (MET 1.3).
Put differently: one hour of standing - reading costs about the same energy as 15 minutes of ordinary walking.
On the food side, a slice of pizza (about 285 kcal) takes roughly 233 minutes of standing - reading 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.
Questions
How many calories does standing - reading burn per hour?
About 74 kcal per hour for a 70 kg (154 lb) adult, using the Compendium MET value of 1. A 90 kg adult burns closer to 95 kcal in the same hour, because energy cost scales almost directly with body mass.
How many calories does 30 minutes of standing - reading burn?
Roughly 37 kcal at 70 kg, 32 kcal at 60 kg and 53 kcal at 100 kg. Halving the time halves the calories — the relationship is linear.
What is the MET value of standing - reading?
1. One MET is the energy you use sitting quietly, so MET 1 means 1 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.
Related activities
Three more from miscellaneous, and three with a similar energy cost from elsewhere in the Compendium.
MET value from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities (activity code 09070). 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.