the_lone_marmot asked:


I read in a magazine that the actual number of calories you burn on a treadmill is 10% less than it says on the readout on the treadmill. I know everyone burns calories at different rates… I’m about 5′7” and 125 lbs.

5 Responses to “Is the calorie counter on treadmills accurate?”

1. BriarKat on March 25th, 2006 10:51 pm

   You shouldn’t worry about it at all….At 5′7″, 125 is on the low side of healthy weight anyway.

2. Partime on March 27th, 2006 7:34 am

   i think so, i did the same amount for 3days and the calories has a difference of 15

3. April L on March 28th, 2006 12:16 pm

   It is not as accurate as claimed. It is a rough average. But showing numbers higher than you are actually burning makes you feel good!

4. cailano on March 30th, 2006 9:23 am

   Probably, but who cares?

   Say you burn 300 calories on the treadmill. One ice cream sundae or a big soda and you just put it right back on.

   Even if you eat right, the point is that 300 calories is nothing.

   Better: weight train and do high intensity interval cardio. Both those exercises stoke your metabolism and cause your body to burn more calories all day. Even while at rest or sleeping. The calorie burn will quickly get into the thousands and you’ll start getting the toned body you want.

   good luck!

5. lv_consultant on March 30th, 2006 7:08 pm

   not at all.

   calorie counters on cardio machines, etc. use statistical data. with out taking the body fat % into account there is no way to get a accurate reading of the caloric expenditure during exercise. the amount of muscle mass that a person has directly effects the amount of calories used when exercising. the more muscle mass a person has the more calories are expended during exercise.