Enter up to 5 weekly activities — selecting the activity type, duration (minutes), and sessions per week — and the MET Minutes Calculator totals your weekly MET minutes and tells you whether you meet the WHO physical activity guidelines of 600 MET min/week (moderate) or 1,200 MET min/week (vigorous).
Total Weekly MET Minutes
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WHO Guideline Status
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% of Moderate Goal (600 MET min)
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% of High-Activity Goal (1,200 MET min)
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Total Active Minutes per Week
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A MET minute is a unit that combines the intensity of an activity (measured in METs) with the duration spent doing it. You calculate it by multiplying the MET value of an activity by the number of minutes performed. For example, 30 minutes of running at MET 8 produces 240 MET minutes.
MET stands for Metabolic Equivalent of Task. It measures how much energy an activity requires relative to sitting at rest, which is defined as 1 MET. An activity with a MET of 4 burns four times the energy of sitting still. Moderate activities are typically in the MET 3–6 range, while vigorous activities exceed MET 6.
The WHO recommends that adults accumulate at least 600 MET minutes per week for basic health benefits — equivalent to 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity. For additional health benefits, the target rises to 1,200 MET minutes per week (300 minutes of moderate activity). This calculator tells you exactly where you stand.
For each activity, multiply its MET value by the total minutes spent on it during the week (duration per session × number of sessions). Then add up the MET minutes from all your activities. This calculator handles all that arithmetic automatically once you fill in your activities.
Moderate-intensity activities have a MET value between 3 and 6 — examples include brisk walking, casual cycling, and golf. Vigorous-intensity activities have a MET above 6 — such as running, swimming laps, basketball, or jumping rope. One minute of vigorous activity counts for approximately two minutes of moderate activity in guideline calculations.
Regular physical activity reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, depression, and all-cause mortality. The WHO estimates that physical inactivity is one of the leading risk factors for global mortality. Even moderate increases in weekly activity can yield significant health improvements.
Absolutely. The WHO guidelines are based on total accumulated MET minutes, so you can combine any mix of moderate and vigorous activities throughout the week. A short high-intensity run can offset several sessions of light walking. This calculator lets you add up to five different activities to see your combined weekly total.
Standard MET values from sources like the Compendium of Physical Activities are population averages and assume a body weight of roughly 70 kg. Actual energy expenditure varies by body weight, fitness level, age, and individual metabolism. MET minutes are best used as a relative measure of activity volume rather than an exact calorie count.