Calories Burned

Overview

Activities and MET values come from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities (Herrmann SD, Willis EA, Ainsworth BE, et al. 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities: A third update of the energy costs of human activities. J Sport Health Sci. 2024;13(1):6-12; https://pacompendium.com). The Compendium is free for commercial use with citation. A monthly collector copies its activity tables into our storage; MET values are stored and returned exactly as published.

Calories per minute are `met x 3.5 x weightKg / 200`: one MET is 3.5 ml of oxygen per kilogram per minute and a litre of oxygen releases about 5 kcal. `caloriesPerHour` and `totalCalories` are rounded to whole kcal. `intensity` classifies the standard MET with the Physical Activity Guidelines bands: light under 3, moderate 3 to 5.9, vigorous 6 and above, with 1.5 or below reported as sedentary.

With `age`, `sex` and `height` (all three) the API estimates resting metabolic rate with Mifflin-St Jeor (10 x kg + 6.25 x cm - 5 x age, plus 5 for men or minus 161 for women); `rmr` replaces the estimate with a measured value. That rate is converted to ml O2/kg/min and `correctedMet = met x 3.5 / RMR`, the Compendium's corrected MET method; calories then use the corrected value. `minutesToBurn` is `calories` divided by calories per minute. Search ranks activities that contain every word of the query (after synonyms such as biking to bicycling), preferring general and non-competitive entries, and falls back to partial matches.

Live Test Calories Burned API →

Endpoint

One host, one path per API. The block below shows this call in four languages; every one of them is the same HTTP request. Making requests covers the timeouts, retries and parameter rules that apply to all of them. The SDKs wrap the same call in a typed client.

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curl "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/caloriesburned?activity=running&code=12150&weight=70&unit=metric&duration=30&calories=300&age=35&sex=female&height=170&rmr=1500&limit=10" \
  -H "x-api-key: your_api_key_here"

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const res = await fetch('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/caloriesburned?activity=running&code=12150&weight=70&unit=metric&duration=30&calories=300&age=35&sex=female&height=170&rmr=1500&limit=10', {
  headers: { 'x-api-key': 'your_api_key_here' },
});

if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${res.status} ${await res.text()}`);

const { data } = await res.json();
console.log(data);

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import requests

res = requests.get(
    "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/caloriesburned?activity=running&code=12150&weight=70&unit=metric&duration=30&calories=300&age=35&sex=female&height=170&rmr=1500&limit=10",
    headers={"x-api-key": "your_api_key_here"},
    timeout=15,
)
res.raise_for_status()

print(res.json()["data"])

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package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"net/http"
)

func main() {
	req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/caloriesburned?activity=running&code=12150&weight=70&unit=metric&duration=30&calories=300&age=35&sex=female&height=170&rmr=1500&limit=10", nil)
	req.Header.Set("x-api-key", "your_api_key_here")

	res, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}
	defer res.Body.Close()

	out, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
	fmt.Println(string(out))
}

Replace your_api_key_here with the key from your dashboard. When the inputs arrive as a list rather than one at a time, batch requests run up to 200 of them through this same API in a single call.

Authentication

Send your key in the x-api-key header. That is the only auth step — there is no token exchange and no per-endpoint scope to configure. Authentication covers creating, rotating and revoking keys.

Parameters

Sent in the query string. Premium parameters are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them.

Response

Every API returns the same three top-level keys, so one response handler covers your whole integration: status, error and data. Only data changes shape. Response format covers the envelope, the other output formats and how premium fields are withheld.

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{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "query": "running",
    "count": 5,
    "totalMatches": 73,
    "weightKg": 70,
    "durationMinutes": 30,
    "targetCalories": null,
    "personalized": false,
    "rmrKcalPerDay": null,
    "activities": [
      {
        "code": "12145",
        "activity": "Running, self-selected pace",
        "heading": "Running",
        "met": 10.5,
        "correctedMet": null,
        "intensity": "vigorous",
        "caloriesPerHour": 772,
        "durationMinutes": 30,
        "totalCalories": 386,
        "minutesToBurn": null
      },
      {
        "code": "12140",
        "activity": "Running, cross country",
        "heading": "Running",
        "met": 9.3,
        "correctedMet": null,
        "intensity": "vigorous",
        "caloriesPerHour": 684,
        "durationMinutes": 30,
        "totalCalories": 342,
        "minutesToBurn": null
      },
      {
        "code": "12170",
        "activity": "Running, stairs, up",
        "heading": "Running",
        "met": 15,
        "correctedMet": null,
        "intensity": "vigorous",
        "caloriesPerHour": 1103,
        "durationMinutes": 30,
        "totalCalories": 551,
        "minutesToBurn": null
      },
      {
        "code": "12150",
        "activity": "Running (Taylor Code 200)",
        "heading": "Running",
        "met": 8,
        "correctedMet": null,
        "intensity": "vigorous",
        "caloriesPerHour": 588,
        "durationMinutes": 30,
        "totalCalories": 294,
        "minutesToBurn": null
      },
      {
        "code": "12180",
        "activity": "Running, on a track, team practice",
        "heading": "Running",
        "met": 10,
        "correctedMet": null,
        "intensity": "vigorous",
        "caloriesPerHour": 735,
        "durationMinutes": 30,
        "totalCalories": 368,
        "minutesToBurn": null
      }
    ]
  }
}

Response fields

Paths are relative to data. Premium fields are absent rather than zeroed on plans that do not include them, so check for presence instead of comparing to 0.

Errors

Read the HTTP status first, then error for the specific reason. The body names the parameter that has to change. Error handling covers the full status list and which of them are worth retrying.

Use cases

Workout Logging Apps

Fitness apps turn a logged activity and duration into calories burned, showing the MET and intensity class so users see why a session counted the way it did.

Calorie Goal Planning

Nutrition coaches use the reverse mode to tell clients how many minutes of walking, cycling or swimming offset a snack or meal.

Corporate Wellness Challenges

Step and activity challenges convert mixed activities, from yard work to basketball, into one comparable calorie or MET-minute total.

Wearable and Health Platforms

Device makers fill in activities their sensors cannot classify with Compendium-based estimates personalised to the wearer's age, sex, height and weight.

Other ways to use Calories Burned

Set up Calories Burned on APIVerve, or reach the same source a different way. Your APIVerve account and credits work on all of them — one key, one balance.

Related

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