Health Options Joannie Dobbs & Alan Titchenal

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Shopping can burn some extra calories

Shop 'til you drop -- or so the saying goes. But, think not what shopping you must do, but what shopping can do for you. Think about weight control! Yes, active shopping can burn up plenty of calories.

Question: How many calories are expended during shopping?

Answer: The amount of calories you burn while during shopping depends on your body weight and the amount of time spent standing, walking and sitting. In addition, carrying heavy packages can increase calorie expenditure. It all adds up to burning a lot more calories than you would by lounging on the couch. Here are the numbers:

As you can see, just standing up burns about twice the calories expended when lying on the couch. Walking slowly adds a bit more to the calories burned.

Q: About how many calories does a person expend for a three-hour shopping trip?

A: During three hours of shopping in a large shopping mall, an easygoing shopper may spend about half of their time walking slowly.

That adds up to about three miles of walking. The other half of the time is spent standing and looking at merchandise or standing in line to make purchases.

Using our estimates above, this adds up to almost 400 calories for the 100-pounder, 750 calories for the 200-pounder, and 1,100 calories for the 300-pound person. Our shoppers burned more than twice the calories that they would have lying on the couch.

A more competitive "super-shopper" may walk up to 5 mall-miles in a three-hour shopping spree. Along with lots of fidgeting, reaching for merchandise, and waving at friends, calorie burning can top 500 calories for our 100 pound person and up to 1,000 calories or more for the more substantial 200- to 300-pound shoppers. This level of shopping should not be attempted without proper training, or you may find yourself "hitting the mall."