| Level | Multiplier | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | ×1.2 | Desk job, little or no exercise. Mostly sitting during the day. |
| Lightly active | ×1.375 | Light exercise or sport 1–3 days a week, or a job with some walking. |
| Moderately active | ×1.55 | Moderate exercise 3–5 days a week, like gym sessions, running or touch footy. |
| Very active | ×1.725 | Hard training 6–7 days a week, or a physical job such as trades or farm work. |
| Extra active | ×1.9 | Twice-daily training, elite sport, or heavy manual labour plus exercise. |
Not sure? Start lower
Most people overestimate how active they are. If you sit most of the day and train three times a week, "lightly active" is usually more accurate than "moderately active". Step count helps: under 5,000 steps a day is sedentary; 7,500–10,000 is lightly active.
Australian lifestyle examples
- Office worker with gym 3×/week: lightly to moderately active.
- Teacher or retail worker on their feet: lightly active, plus exercise.
- Tradie, farmer or FIFO rig worker: very active on work days.
- Weekend footy or netball plus weekday training: moderately active.
Ready? Go back to the calculator.