Why Walking Calories Differ from Running

Walking is a pendulum motion: your legs swing forward while one foot stays planted, so your center of mass stays low and energy cost stays modest. Running adds a flight phase that lifts your whole body off the ground each stride, roughly doubling the work per step. That is why the same 70 kg person burns about 360 kcal running 5 km but only about 230 kcal walking it briskly.

The MET Method

This calculator uses the standard MET (metabolic equivalent) approach: a slow walk runs about 3.0 METs, a brisk power walk 3.8, and a very fast walk 5.0. Multiply the MET value by 3.5 and your weight in kilograms, divide by 200, then multiply by minutes walked — the result is the widely accepted estimate used by health authorities and fitness trackers alike.

Steps, Distance, and Daily Habits

Ten thousand steps is roughly 8 km for an average stride. At a brisk pace that is close to 370 kcal — a meaningful daily expenditure that compounds over weeks. Because walking is low-impact and easy to sustain, it remains the most accessible calorie-burning activity for most people, and the numbers here give you a reliable baseline to plan with.