METABOLIC EQUIVALENT

Introduction

Physical activity is defined as any body movement produced by skeletal muscles

action that increases energy expenditure. It comprises all activities, including physical
exercise, performed at any intensity. The estimates of physical activity are obtained using
questionnaires on frequency, duration and intensity i.e. light, moderate and vigorous of all
physical activities during a week. Although most people think of energy cost in terms of
kilocalories (kcal), exercise physiologists and physicians often use metabolic equivalent
(MET) values. To sum up the physical activity level, metabolic equivalent are assigned to
different activities.

Metabolic Equivalent

A multiple of resting metabolic rate. Metabolic equivalent represents the average,

seated, resting energy cost of an adult and it is defined as:

 One MET is set at 3.5 mL per kg of body weight per minute of oxygen
 One MET is 1 kcal per kg of body weight per hour.

METs are a useful, convenient, and standardized way to describe the absolute
intensity of a variety of physical activities. MET is an acronym derived from the term
Metabolic Equivalent and it is a unit that represents the metabolic equivalent in terms of the
resting rate of oxygen consumption of any given activity. Metabolic equivalent is the
objective measure of the ratio of the rate at which a person expends energy, relative to the
mass of that person, while performing some specific physical activity compared to a
reference, set by convention at 3.5 mL of oxygen per kilogram per minute, which is roughly
equivalent to the energy expended when sitting quietly.

Multiples of the 1-MET resting baseline represent the MET level or oxygen saturation
at any activity. Thus, an activity performed at the levels of 5 METs would require five times
as much energy as is expended at rest.

Applications of MET

It is used to assess the level or intensity of physical activity of individuals. The total
energy expenditure in MET-min/week is estimated from intensity, duration and frequency of
activity. Individuals are subsequently categorized into physically active or inactive based on
total physical activity cut-off scores of 1680 MET-min/week corresponding to 1 hour of daily
moderate intensity physical activity.

MET values for Different Activities

MET values for different activities according to American College of Sports Medicine are
given below:

Physical Activity MET

Light Intensity < 3
Arts And Crafts 1.5
Walking Slowly 2
Household Chores(Making Bed, Washing 2.0-2.5
Dishes)
Billiards 2.5
Playing Musical Instruments 2.0-2.5
Moderate Intensity 3-5.9
Walking 3 Miles Per Hour 3
Walking At Very Brisk Pace, Double 5
Tennis
Washing Windows, Car 3
Sweeping Floors 3.0-3.5
Badminton 4.5
Vigorous Intensity ≥ 6
Jogging At 5 Miles Per Hour 8
Carrying Heavy Loads Such As Bricks 7.5
Heavy Farming 8
Bicycling 6
Swimming 6

Limitations of MET

The value calculated for 1 MET was experimentally derived from the resting oxygen
consumption of a healthy 40-year-old, 70 kg man and must therefore be treated as a
convention. Since the resting metabolic rate of a person depends mainly on lean body mass
and other physiological factors such as health status and age. So the actual resting metabolic
rate, oxygen consumption and thus metabolic equivalents may vary significantly from the 1
kcal per kg per hour rule of thumb. According to studies, the overall values are closer to 1
kcal per kg per hr and this is an overestimation of 10–15%. But in practice, variations from
the average value are not considered to be substantial enough to invalidate its use.

References

1. Abdesslam Boutayeb 2019 Disease Prevention and Health Promotion in Developing

Countries Springer

2. Sharon Plowman, Denise Smith 2008 Exercise Physiology for Health, Fitness, and
Performance 2nd Edition
3. Simon P. R. Jenkins 2005 Sports Science Handbook Volume 2
4. https://www.acsm.org/