MET Score

What are MET scores?

MET stands for Metabolic Equivalent Task. The MET score is a measure to express how much energy a particular physical activity costs relative to the basal metabolic rate.

A MET score therefore indicates how many times the basal metabolic rate would need to be increased to perform a certain type of activity. This means that a MET of 1 covers energy expenditure at rest. A MET of 1 corresponds to 1.05 kcal per kg of body weight per hour.

An activity with a MET score of 2 requires twice as much energy as an activity with a MET score of 1.

Using a MET score, one can describe how intense a physical activity is. This is comparable to the PAL score. The difference is that the PAL score does not give an indication for 1 specific activity, but for all activities throughout the entire day.

A distinction is made between:

• Sedentary behaviour = 1.0-1.5 MET
• Light intensity activities: 1.6-2.9 MET
• Moderate intensity activities: 3.0-5.9 MET
• Vigorous intensity activities: > 6 MET

Values range from 0.9 during sleep to 23 for very fast running.

Using the MET score you can also measure your calorie expenditure:

Number of calories burned per minute = (MET x body weight in kg x 3.5) / 200