How many calories does 16,000 steps burn?

The short answer

About 670 calories, for an adult of average height who weighs 70 kg (154 lb). Your weight changes it more than anything else: about 520 calories at 55 kg (121 lb) and about 950 at 100 kg (220 lb). 16,000 steps is about 11.3 km, or 7.0 miles, for an adult of average height, and about 2 hours 15 minutes of walking at a normal pace.

16,000 steps, calories by body weight

Body weight	Calories burned
55 kg (121 lb)	about 520 kcal
70 kg (154 lb)	about 670 kcal
85 kg (187 lb)	about 810 kcal
100 kg (220 lb)	about 950 kcal

For an adult of average height, about 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in), on level ground. The figures come from a model of walking energy built on height, weight and speed, which tested within a few percent of measured values.

Does walking faster burn more?

Barely, for the same 16,000 steps. A brisk walk burns calories faster than a stroll, but it also gets you through the steps sooner, so the total comes out almost the same: for a 70 kg adult, about 690 calories at a stroll and 670 at a brisk walk. What changes the total is weight, hills, and how many steps you take, not how quickly.

Why your watch may show less

These are total calories, including what your body burns anyway just by being alive. Apple Watch shows less, about 500 for the same 16,000 steps at 70 kg, because its Move ring counts only the calories on top of that.

Where 16,000 steps sits

In the step tiers used in research, 12,500 and above is “highly active”, the top tier, and 16,000 is well inside it. Few people reach it without a long walk or a job on their feet.

Your own number

The walking calories calculator takes your weight, your height and your steps, and how many miles is 16,000 steps has the distance and time for every height. For other step counts, see calories per 1,000 steps.

A goal for every walk

The hard part of walking more is not the walking. It is having a reason to go out today. reTrek gives your walks a finish line: pick a famous route, like the Camino de Santiago or the Inca Trail, and every walk moves you further along it, with a short film about the place waiting at each milestone. You stop looking for a spare moment to walk and start walking to reach the next milestone.

At 16,000 steps a day, Lukla to Everest Base Camp takes about 5 days. Everest Base Camp is free. Get reTrek.