Table 1.

Formula for physical activity outcome translation

Reported measure	MET hr gained per day translation formula
kcal/kg/min	MET-hour = (kcal/kg/min)*(average weight)*(6/7)
kcal/min	MET-hour = (kcal/kg/min)*(6/7)
kcal/week	MET-hour = (kcal/week)/70/7
steps/day on walking	MET-hour = (steps/10,000)*4.25*(1/3)*3MET
30 min blocks in physical activity per day	MET-hour = [(30 min block)/4]*MET assigned
min/day on physical activity	MET-hour = [(min/day)*MET assigned]/60
% people meeting guideline	MET-hour = (% people)*(1.5 MET-hour for adults or 3.0 MET-hour for children)
MET min/wk	MET-hour = (MET min/wk)/60/7
active days(at least 3 MET- hour) per week	MET-hour = (active days)*(3.0 MET-hour)/7

Definitions/default values:

If the study outcome is time spent on MVPA, MET assigned is the average of MPA and VPA = (3+6)/2 = 4.5 (all people)

MPA = 3.0 MET, VPA = 6.0 MET

Walking speed: 20min/mile. 10,000 steps = 4.25 miles (3.79 mile for women and 4.73 mile for men). To get a reasonable baseline, subtract 5000 steps

School recess time: morning = 15 min, lunch = 30 min