Calories Burned Playing soccer casually at 55 kg — 385 kcal per Hour
Playing soccer casually at 55 kg (110-132 lb) burns about 385 kcal per hour. That figure comes from the activity's MET value of 7.0 in the 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities, multiplied by body weight: 7.0 × 55 kg × 1 hour = 385 kcal. This page works the numbers out in full — for 15, 30, 45, 60 and 90 minutes, across all four weight bands, and against four comparable activities at the same weight — so you can plan sessions with real figures instead of guessing.
Casual soccer means a kickabout in the park, a five-a-side game with friends or a lunchtime match — football played for fun, with rolling substitutes, uneven teams and nobody tracking the score too seriously. The Compendium gives it 7.0 METs, which reflects the stop-start reality: short sprints to the ball, walking back into position, standing while someone takes a throw-in, then another burst.
At 55 kg that works out to 385 kcal per hour — a solid moderate-to-vigorous burn, comparable to jogging or a competitive badminton match. It is less than a full competitive match, because casual games have more pauses and less sustained running, but it is still one of the more enjoyable ways to accumulate an hour of vigorous activity without noticing the clock.
Calculate your own numbers
Use the Calorie calculator to work out your own burn for playing soccer casually at your exact weight and session length. Enter your weight, pick the activity and set the duration, and the tool applies the same MET formula shown below. You can also try the running calorie calculator to see how this session fits into your total daily energy use.
Related pages in this section:
Calories Burned Playing soccer casually at 75 kg — 525 kcal per Hour
Calories Burned Playing soccer casually at 85 kg — 595 kcal per Hour
The formula, shown and cited
The standard way to estimate the energy cost of an activity is the MET formula from the Compendium of Physical Activities (Ainsworth et al., Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2011; 43(8): 1575–1581):
Calories (kcal) = MET × body weight (kg) × duration (hours)
One MET is the energy you use sitting quietly at rest — about 1 kcal per kilogram of body weight per hour. An activity rated at 7.0 METs therefore uses 7.0 times as much energy as resting. The Compendium's MET values come from published studies that measured oxygen use during each activity, so they are measured averages, not guesses. The value used here is the one recorded for this activity in the FitCalc activity data, taken from the Compendium.
Worked through for this page:
- MET for playing soccer casually: 7.0
- Body weight: 55 kg (the midpoint of the 50-60 kg band, 110-132 lb)
- Duration: 1 hour
- Calculation: 7.0 × 55 × 1 = 385 kcal
For a 30-minute session the same calculation is 7.0 × 55 × 0.5 = 192 kcal. Nothing else is hidden in the maths — if your weight or duration changes, only those two numbers change.
Your numbers at 55 kg
| Duration | Calculation | Calories burned |
|---|---|---|
| 15 minutes | 7.0 × 55 × 0.25 | 96 kcal |
| 30 minutes | 7.0 × 55 × 0.5 | 192 kcal |
| 45 minutes | 7.0 × 55 × 0.75 | 289 kcal |
| 60 minutes | 7.0 × 55 × 1 | 385 kcal |
| 90 minutes | 7.0 × 55 × 1.5 | 578 kcal |
That is about 6.4 kcal per minute of playing soccer casually at this weight. A short session still counts: even 15 minutes burns 96 kcal, and three 15-minute sessions across a day add up to the same 289 kcal as one 45-minute session.
How the burn changes with body weight
The MET value stays the same — it describes the activity, not the person — but the calorie total scales with weight, because a heavier body costs more energy to move:
| Body weight | Calories per hour | Calories per 30 minutes |
|---|---|---|
| 55 kg | 385 kcal | 192 kcal |
| 65 kg | 455 kcal | 228 kcal |
| 75 kg | 525 kcal | 262 kcal |
| 85 kg | 595 kcal | 298 kcal |
Two people doing the same activity for the same time can therefore burn quite different amounts, and that is expected — it is physics, not a mistake in the formula. If your weight sits between two rows, your figure sits between the two values.
How playing soccer casually compares
Here is playing soccer casually against four other activities at the same 55 kg, all using the same MET formula:
| Activity | MET | Calories per hour at 55 kg |
|---|---|---|
| Playing soccer casually | 7.0 | 385 kcal |
| Jogging | 7.0 | 385 kcal |
| Playing competitive badminton | 7.0 | 385 kcal |
| Swimming backstroke | 7.0 | 385 kcal |
| Shooting baskets | 6.0 | 330 kcal |
Use this table to choose, not to judge. A higher number means a harder session, not a better one: the activity you enjoy and repeat three times a week beats the activity that burns more per hour but that you quit after a fortnight. Mixing intensities across the week — one harder session, two easier ones — is usually more sustainable than doing the hardest activity every time.
Fitting playing soccer casually into your week
| Sessions per week | 30 minutes each | 60 minutes each |
|---|---|---|
| 2 sessions | 385 kcal | 770 kcal |
| 3 sessions | 578 kcal | 1155 kcal |
| 5 sessions | 962 kcal | 1925 kcal |
A casual game is usually a kickabout or a small-sided match lasting 60 to 90 minutes, with rolling substitutes, no referee and frequent pauses. At 7.0 METs, playing soccer casually counts as moderate-to-vigorous activity, so it contributes directly towards the widely used target of 150 minutes of moderate activity a week for adults. To burn 500 kcal from playing soccer casually alone takes about 78 minutes at 55 kg, and 1,000 kcal takes about 156 minutes — spread across the week, that is far more realistic than trying to do it in one session. Build up gradually — add 10% to your weekly total at most, and keep at least one rest day.
How to use the result
What changes the burn for playing soccer casually in practice:
- Pitch size: a small five-a-side pitch means more touches and more short sprints, while a full-size pitch means more long running.
- Your position: midfielders cover the most ground, goalkeepers the least, and in casual games people rotate anyway.
- How many substitutes you have: rolling subs mean real rest, and the burn drops with every minute spent on the sideline.
- The standard of the game: a fast, competitive kickabout can approach the competitive figure, while a gentle family game sits well below 7.0 METs.
Practical tips for this activity:
- Warm up before the first sprint — most casual soccer injuries happen in the first ten minutes, when cold muscles meet a sudden sprint.
- Wear proper footwear for the surface: studs on grass, flat trainers on astroturf, and never street shoes on a wet pitch.
- Rotate positions so everyone gets running time, and agree rolling substitutes before kick-off to avoid arguments.
- Bring water: an hour of casual soccer at 55 kg burns about 385 kcal, and you will sweat more than the relaxed atmosphere suggests.
Use the numbers on this page to set realistic expectations rather than to chase a daily total. If you are tracking food as well, add the session's calories to your total daily energy expenditure for that day, and remember that the figure is an estimate with roughly 10–20% uncertainty. Do not eat back every calorie the calculator shows: activity trackers and MET estimates both tend to overstate slightly, and a small margin keeps a weight-loss plan on track. If you are aiming to lose weight, keep the deficit modest — 300–500 kcal a day is a common, sustainable range — and keep your total intake above the safety floors of 1,200 kcal a day for women and 1,500 kcal a day for men unless a healthcare professional advises otherwise.
A note at 55 kg
At 55 kg you sit at the lighter end of the four weight bands on this site, and that shapes how the numbers feel in practice. Your absolute burn is the lowest of the four bands — 385 kcal per hour here against 595 kcal at 85 kg — but your burn per kilogram of body weight is identical, because the MET formula is linear: every kilogram costs the same. In practical terms that means duration and frequency matter more for you than for a heavier person doing the same activity. Two 45-minute sessions will usually serve you better than one 90-minute session, because you accumulate the same total with less fatigue in each outing, and you are less likely to run into the joint and muscle soreness that long sessions cause. If you are tracking weight loss, remember that a smaller body also means a smaller total daily expenditure, so a 300–500 kcal deficit is a larger share of your day than it is for someone heavier — keep the deficit at the modest end of that range and let the activity do its work over weeks, not days.
What the number does NOT tell you
The MET formula is honest about what it measures and silent about the rest. It does not account for your fitness level: a fit person burns fewer calories doing the same activity than an unfit person, because their body is more efficient. It does not account for body composition — two people at 55 kg with different amounts of muscle and fat will burn slightly different amounts. It does not include the afterburn (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) that follows hard sessions, it does not measure strength, flexibility or balance gained, and it says nothing about how the activity affects your appetite, sleep or mood. Casual soccer's 7.0 METs is an average across very different games, from a gentle kickabout to a fiercely contested five-a-side, so your game may sit well above or below it. The figure also counts only playing time — the minutes on the sideline waiting for a substitute do not burn at 7.0 METs — and it says nothing about the injury risk, which is real: sudden sprints, twists and tackles cause more ankle and knee injuries than almost any other casual sport. A proper warm-up matters more here than in most activities on this site. Use the calorie figure as a planning estimate, and judge the activity by how you feel doing it and whether you keep doing it.
Frequently asked questions
How many calories do I burn doing playing soccer casually for 30 minutes at 55 kg?
About 192 kcal. The maths is 7.0 METs × 55 kg × 0.5 hours = 192 kcal. That is an estimate from the Compendium average — your real burn depends on your fitness, your pace and the conditions. If you weigh more or less than 55 kg, use the weight table above to read your own figure.
Is playing soccer casually good for weight loss?
It can help, but only as part of an overall calorie deficit. At 55 kg, an hour of playing soccer casually burns about 385 kcal, which is a useful contribution — roughly the energy in a modest meal — but weight loss still comes from the total balance of food and activity across the week, not from one session. Aim for a gradual loss of 0.5–1% of body weight per week, and never drop below 1,200 kcal a day (women) or 1,500 kcal a day (men) without medical supervision.
How does playing soccer casually compare with jogging?
At 55 kg, playing soccer casually burns about 385 kcal per hour against 385 kcal for jogging. If the number is higher, playing soccer casually is the more intense activity; if it is lower, jogging burns more. The best choice is usually the one you will actually do several times a week — consistency matters more than a small difference in the hourly rate.
Does the calorie burn change if I weigh more or less than 55 kg?
Yes, directly. Calories = MET × weight in kg × hours, so the burn scales with body weight. At 55 kg the same hour of playing soccer casually burns about 385 kcal; at 85 kg it burns about 595 kcal. The MET value itself does not change with weight — it describes the intensity of the activity.
How is casual soccer different from competitive soccer for calories?
The Compendium separates them: casual soccer is 7.0 METs (385 kcal per hour at 55 kg) while competitive soccer is 10.0 METs (550 kcal per hour). The difference is the intensity — competitive matches have less standing around, harder sprinting and no rolling substitutes. A fast, serious kickabout can approach the competitive figure, but most park games sit close to the casual one.
Estimates only, not medical advice. Minimum safe intakes: 1,200 kcal/day women, 1,500 kcal/day men — consult a healthcare professional before a very-low-calorie diet.