WEBVTT - How Calorie Meters Work

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from how stuff works dot com

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<v Speaker 1>where smart Happens. Hi, I'm Marshall Brain. Have you ever

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<v Speaker 1>been to the gym and used a piece of equipment

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<v Speaker 1>that tells you the number of calories that you've burned?

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<v Speaker 1>The New York Times ran a story this week explaining

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<v Speaker 1>how bad these calorie estimates really are. Intuitively, we know

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<v Speaker 1>that these estimates are often wrong. Here's how we know that.

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<v Speaker 1>It's easy to jump on a ster machine and have

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<v Speaker 1>it tell you that you've burned a thousand calories in

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<v Speaker 1>half an hour. But here is the comparison you have

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<v Speaker 1>to keep in mind. Imagine that you go out running

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<v Speaker 1>and you run ten miles in one hour. That is

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<v Speaker 1>ten six minute miles. Most people couldn't even do it.

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<v Speaker 1>If you could do it, imagine how you would feel

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<v Speaker 1>that ten mile run is, roughly speaking, when thousand calories burned.

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<v Speaker 1>You would have to feel that bad to burn a

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<v Speaker 1>thousand calories. And even that is a rough estimate because

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<v Speaker 1>it changes wildly depending on how much you weigh, how

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<v Speaker 1>old you are, and things like that. So you have

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<v Speaker 1>three things that are corrupting the meters on most exercise equipment. First,

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<v Speaker 1>people vary wildly in size, shape, and condition. Second, people

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<v Speaker 1>can do things that make exercise easier. For example, they

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<v Speaker 1>can hold onto the rails on a ste machine and

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<v Speaker 1>cut the number of calories burned in half. Third, manufacturers

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<v Speaker 1>seem to be overly optimistic because it makes their customers

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<v Speaker 1>feel good. Add this all together and you can get

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<v Speaker 1>some really bad calorie estimates. Be sure to check out

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<v Speaker 1>our new video podcast, Stuff from the Future. Join how

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff Work staff as we explore the most promising and

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<v Speaker 1>perplexing possibilities of tomorrow the house Stuff Works. I Find

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<v Speaker 1>app has a arry down at it today on iTunes