who spends more energy?

[TaniaRyl]

interesting! who spends more energy? an athlete during training for a day or a loader for an 8-hour shift?

Who spends more energy on a football player during a game, or a firefighter during a fire?

who spends more energy miner or tennis player....

[MarciM]

Interesting question @TaniaRyl. I believe the answer is, it depends. There are a lot of factors to be considered in calculating energy output for any given activity, for example, age, weight, gender, current fitness level and so forth. 

[TaniaRyl]

Thanks @MarciM 

I agree with you, it depends on various factors. but they are often not taken into account in the physical professions. in Ukraine, for example, firefighters are often over 40 years old. although this profession is associated with high stress and high physical activity. like many other professions. a lot of details. the question is more generalized. what do you think it is interesting to check with the Fitbit tracker, I 🤔 

[t.parker · Accepted solution]

@TaniaRyl an athlete trains to achieve better energy efficiency. Using less energy (burning less calories) while doing same work is what athletes try to improve. Two athletes of different disciplines will have totally different energy efficiency as well as energetic needs to perform their discipline. You can't put equal sign between a powerlifter and a triathlete. It's the same thing with professions.

Take two cyclists. One is amateur commuting to work on regular basis, the other is an athlete with proper training program, improving FTP and VO2Max etc. If we skip genetics (let's say they are super-twins) and we assume they weigh the same, the amateur will be burning more (in absolute numbers, which is wrong method anyway) than the athlete because athlete is trained to be efficient in cycling.

Don't forget genetics, as this plays crucial role in out metabolism regardless whether somebody is an athlete or firefighter.

Now, what do you want to compare? Calories? If yes then this is also tricky. Absolute value makes no sense. It will greatly differ between people of different age, gender, weight. It would be probably better to compare percentage of BMR burned daily. Let's say one person burns 2063 which is BMR(1392)+active(671). Hence, such person would burn on that day 148% of BMR. Then, if we get somebody heavier with BMR 1515 who burned also 671 active calories, despite the sum (2186) is greater than for the first person but the percentage is 144% of BMR. It means that lighter guy in fact burned more. It's just example but it shows that it's not so easy to compare calories between different people.

The job that requires physical activity will indeed burn more than sedentary desk job but it depends what type of activity is involved. On the job, people get also more efficient (same as athletes through training) and again - energetic output will vary.

Your question assumes there is one answer but the truth is, there is no valid answer.

[TaniaRyl]

Hi @t.parker 

thanks for the detailed answer. Yes, the question is generalized, but that is individual. and at the same time, it is interesting that the annual load is higher for an athlete either a person who does physical labor? acceptable in the same weight category and with a similar genetic predisposition...

Thanks a lot

Athletes have a longer recovery and rest period, I think.

[amidre]

An athlete works out to improve their energy efficiency. Athletes strive to use less energy (burn fewer calories) while performing labor. However, the quantity of energy required each day varies according to the amount of activity you get and your physical condition. For example, people who participate in sports require more energy than those who do not, and this varies depending on the sport and the individual's weight. As a result, athletes tend to run out of energy after only three meals.
Those who have been schooled to be efficient use less energy.