Almost every occupation requires some mix of light, moderate, or vigorous activities, depending on the task at hand. To categorize the activity level of your own position, ask yourself: How many minutes each working day do I spend doing the types of activities described as light, moderate, or vigorous? To arrive at a total workday caloric expenditure, multiply the minutes spent doing activities within each intensity level by the kilocalories corresponding to each level of intensity. Then, add together the total kilocalories spent doing light, moderate, and vigorous activities to arrive at your total energy expenditure in a typical day. Use this handy chart to help calculate the calories burned based on your activities.
