Metabolic Equivalent (MET) Values for Activities in the 2002 Census Occupational Classification System (OCS)

This Web site is a companion piece to the paper:

Tudor-Locke C, Ainsworth BE, Washington TL, Troiano R. Assigning metabolic equivalent values to the 2002 census occupational classification system. J Phys Act Health 2011 May;8(4):581-6. [View Abstract]

It contains, and provides a searchable interface to, Tables 3 through 24 referenced in that article. Tables 1 and 2 are contained within the article itself.

A PDF copy of the article is available upon request; please e-mail Susan Scott.

The MET values presented on these tables and in the original article are to be used expressly for analysis of Occupational Classification System data. While they are based on the Compendium of Physical Activities, the MET levels differ from those in the Compendium due to combining activities and their associated MET levels in the OCS.

For consistency in assigning intensity values to physical activity questionnaires, researchers should use the MET values presented in the Compendium of Physical Activities.

See also Table 4: Summary MET values for Occupation in Metabolic Equivalent (MET) Values for Activities in American Time Use Survey (ATUS).

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Download the Tables

You can download these tables in Comma-Separated Values (CSV) or MS Excel (XLS) format for analysis in SAS or other statistical software.

• SAS syntax for fine occupation coding based on Census 2002 Industry Codes
• Download all tables in one MS Excel worksheet
• Download each table individually in Comma-Separated Values (CSV) format:
  
  • Table 3: Activity codes & MET values assigned to management occupations
  • Table 4: Activity codes & MET values assigned to business and financial operations occupations
  • Table 5: Activity codes & MET values assigned to computer and mathematical occupations
  • Table 6: Activity codes & MET values assigned to architecture and engineering occupations
  • Table 7: Activity codes & MET values assigned to life, physical, and social science occupations
  • Table 8: Activity codes & MET values assigned to community and social services occupations
  • Table 9: Activity codes & MET values assigned to legal occupations
  • Table 10: Activity codes & MET values assigned to education, training, and library occupations
  • Table 11: Activity codes & MET values assigned to arts, design, entertainment, sports, media occupations
  • Table 12: Activity codes & MET values assigned to healthcare practitioner and technical occupations
  • Table 13: Activity codes & MET values assigned to healthcare support occupations
  • Table 14: Activity codes & MET values assigned to protective service occupations
  • Table 15: Activity codes & MET values assigned to food preparation and serving related occupations
  • Table 16: Activity codes & MET values assigned to building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations
  • Table 17: Activity codes & MET values assigned to personal care and service occupations
  • Table 18: Activity codes & MET values assigned to sales and related occupations
  • Table 19: Activity codes & MET values assigned to office and administrative support occupations
  • Table 20: Activity codes & MET values assigned to farming, fishing, and forestry occupations
  • Table 21: Activity codes & MET values assigned to construction and extraction occupations
  • Table 22: Activity codes & MET values assigned to installation, maintenance, and repair occupations
  • Table 23: Activity codes & MET values assigned to production occupations
  • Table 24: Activity codes & MET values assigned to transportation and material moving occupations

Search the Tables

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