Scuba diving calories burned

[zaf88]

guys i have this debate w my buddy about how many calories u burn diving. i have checked various websites and they range from 500cal to 900 cal per hour which seems very high. Im 215, 32 y.o. male. Does anyone have a rough idea ( i know that diving can vary im talking about ur average carribean dive)?

[howard4113]

Most of the websites that list the burn rate for scuba grossly exaggerate expended calories. Of course it depends on your exertion level. For example running (jogging 10 minute miles) will burn close to 1000 cal/hr for you. Do you really exert that much effort diving? I think not. Most divers I know could not jog that fast without wheezing! Now ask yourself how long is your air going to last breathing as fast as you do running? A better figure would be for leisurely swimming (continuous) - 500 to 600 cal/hr... and less for a drift dive.

[AquaPixie]

... A better figure would be for leisurely swimming (continuous) - 500 to 600 cal/hr... and less for a drift dive.

YEAH! That's a Snickers bar Yumm

[pinko]

To be honest I don't really know.

[Chugwhump]

I am a beach diving fanatic down here in Broward County Florida.
I will routinely swim 1.5 miles in a 2-3 hour period both on top and submerged both with and against the current.
I think the only appreciable calories burned are when the water cools off and my personal blubber stock burns off keeping me warm. That would be when the water hits anything less than 75 degrees around December.
But an understanding of the physical caloric demands I do not have.

Chug

[diverdoug1]

Caloric expenditure depends on many variables when diving, but the main determinants are: 1. Caloric expenditure of baseline metabolism of the individual, 2. Metebolic requirements to maintain normothermia (influenceded by things like water temperature, body mass index, degree of insulation in gear, shivering, degree of peripheral vasodialation). 3.Metabolic requirements for physical activity (influenced by things like type and duration of physical activity, the individuals body habitus, and level of conditioning). Floating calmly in body temperature water should approximate baseline metabolic rate. Welding a cross-member on an oil rig in the North Sea, at depth, during a storm would yield a different calotric expenditure.

In the parameters of your particular question, there are too many variables that are not defined to be able to give you a good answer (your activity level, your BMI, water temp, what is your gear, physical conditioning, how efficiently you are performing your chosen diving activities, average heart rate).

One way to approximate your caloric expenditure (excluding temperature variables), would be to measure your heart rate when you are doing an activity of known calorie expenditure, and compare that to your heart rate during your particular dive. You would then have a rough idea of your physical activity level in relation to the activity level of your "calorie known" activity.

Hope this helps.

[Clammy]

Most likely, not as much as people would like to think. Just look at the average physique of even avid divers who are in the water say several times a week. Compare that to someone that runs that same amount of time a week or weight lifts the same amount of time a week. It's pretty damn difficult to to burn that many calories in an hour. I burn about 3500 calories running a marathon in under 5 hours. I think of it as one coke = 1 mile for me! ha ha! Factoring in water weight I tend to lose 1 permanent pound after a marathon. During 1 hour intense sprinting and high repetition resistance training sessions, I'm only burning 700 calories or so. After 5 dives in one day, my body doesn't have that same need for food for energy feeling that I get from doing other activities. I just get hungry to eat for the sake of eating. I don't even consider a dive to be a workout when I'm figuring out my workout routine and schedules. I workout and stay fit so that I can dive better.

[zaf88]

yea the average diver is def no physical speciman, but i have to say that when i am on a 5 or more day diving trip i can eat all sorts of crap and it seems to not affect me as much. i also agree with howard, after a dive im not winded or anything, another sign that its not very strenuous. i would think that scuba burns calories as much as walking at a moderate pace. i will try and take an average pulse on my next dive and see