Sweeping Or Skydiving? When Counting Calories It's All The Same
Skydiving and vacuuming burn the same number of calories. So what'll it be, thrills or a clean carpet? Mary McLain/NPR hide caption
Skydiving and vacuuming burn the same number of calories. So what'll it be, thrills or a clean carpet?
Mary McLain/NPRSure, playing in the women's World Cup burns a lot more energy than watching the women's World Cup. But the number of calories expended in sports and daily activities isn't always so obvious.
To figure it out, we dove into this database compiled by Arizona State University. It charts the energy expenditure for hundreds of activities, from mainstream ("bicycling, leisure, 5.5 mph") to obscure ("caulking, chinking log cabin").
As part of our sports and health series and poll with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, we've picked a few of our favorites.
Calories burned by a 200-pound person in 30 minutes: