# Does a sedentary lifestyle burn the same amount of calories as an active lifestyle?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-sedentary-lifestyle-burn-the-same-amount-of-calories-as-an-active-lifestyle/995835>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 9, 2024, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-sedentary-lifestyle-burn-the-same-amount-of-calories-as-an-active-lifestyle/995835 "2024-01-09T17:06:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 23

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**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2024, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-sedentary-lifestyle-burn-the-same-amount-of-calories-as-an-active-lifestyle/995835/23 "2024-01-10T01:00:39Z")

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As alluded to upthread by a couple of posters, it seems one needs a lot of extra calories to complete a period of sustained physical exertion, such as [hiking the Appalachian Trail.](https://thetrek.co/appalachian-trail/food-appalachian-trail/) I’ve sometimes thought it would be worth doing it just for the extra food I could scarf.

> [@CoolHandCox](#):
>
> ha, [10,000 calorie per day/diet](https://olympics.com/en/news/michael-phelps-10000-calories-diet-what-the-american-swimmer-ate-while-training-). A _true_ American! 😉

If anyone is curious, way back in 2008 I came up with a list, here on the SDMB, of [what you’d have to eat in one day to consume 30,000 calories.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-become-morbidly-obese/458307/10) I remember thinking it would be a five-minute project, but it took me much longer than I expected, as I wanted to list a variety of foods and not just say “30 Big Macs at 1,000 calories each.”

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