An archer's basal metabolic rate does not differ from the value predicted for their age
2 studies · 16 archers measured
The summary today
There are two measurements, old and small, and they come from the same Japanese laboratory. In 1981 six twenty-year-old university archers, measured in the morning after fasting, have a basal metabolic rate of 38.3 kilocalories per square metre per hour against the 37.5 predicted by the official tables for their age. In 1984 a second group, five men and five women with two or three years of practice, gives the same result: 38.5 against 38.5 in the men, 33.9 against 34.3 in the women. The only gap shows in the women when the value is expressed per kilogram of body weight rather than per unit of body surface, 22.3 kilocalories per kilogram per day against 24.5, which fits what the authors note about the sample: the women were heavier than average for their age. What is missing is a real comparison: in both studies the reference is a population table, not a group of peers who do not shoot measured with the same method, and in more than forty years nobody has repeated the measurement with modern calorimetry. What can be said is that in these sixteen archers shooting left no mark on resting energy use, and not much more.
Also phrased as: "basal metabolic rate in archers"; "resting energy expenditure and archery"; "does archery speed up metabolism"; "an archer's calorie needs"; "resting energy use"
In practice
You hear that archery burns little energy and that an archer manages weight like someone who does no sport, but also, the other way round, that hours of drawing and competing raise energy needs as in an endurance sport.
Evidence
-
1981
For Archers Published later
6 Japanese university archers aged 20 to 21, measured in the morning after fasting: basal metabolic rate 38.3 kcal/m²/h (25.4 kcal/kg per day) against the 37.5 kcal/m²/h (24.5 kcal/kg per day) calculated from the standard tables for the same subjects, no difference. In absolute terms 1.06 kcal per minute at basal rest and 1.24 when seated.
Physical Fitness and Energy Metabolism of the Archers (1) · Koji Tsuji, Hide Takeyama, Hideo Koishi, Yoshiho Katayama
-
1984
For Archers Published later
5 men and 5 women, Japanese university students aged 19 to 22 with 2 to 3 years of practice: in the men measured basal metabolic rate 38.5 kcal/m²/h (25.2 kcal/kg per day) against 38.5 predicted (24.9); in the women 33.9 (22.3) against 34.3 (24.5).
Physical Fitness and Energy Metabolism of the Archers (Part 2) · Koji Tsuji, Takatsune Tsumiyama, Yoshiho Katayama
Status history
- 1981 Reported The question begins in the laboratory with six twenty-year-old university archers: basal metabolic rate measured in the morning after fasting is 38.3 kilocalories per square metre per hour, almost the same as the 37.5 predicted by the tables for their age. Six subjects and no measured comparison group, only a population table: reported.
- 1984 Reported A second group from the same laboratory, five men and five women with two or three years of practice, gives the same result: 38.5 against 38.5 in the men and 33.9 against 34.3 in the women, with the women slightly lower only when the value is expressed per kilogram. They are different archers from those of 1981, but the same method and the same reference to a table: two tiny samples that agree are not enough to move up, and the status stays reported.
Related
Related articles
- How competitive archers eat: what shooting costs, how much protein they report, what they weigh and who advises themWhat competitive archers eat, how much protein they report, who advises them and what they weigh: what the studies have measured and where they stop.
- Is archery good for you? What changes in the body of people who shoot, and what does notStrength, heart rate variability, arteries, resting heart rate and blood pressure: what changes in the bodies of archers, according to the measurements.
- How many calories does archery burn, from one arrow to a competition dayWhat one arrow costs at different draw weights, what a tournament day costs, and what the studies say about the intensity of shooting and body weight.
Research lines
Cite
Campagna, M. (2026). An archer's basal metabolic rate does not differ from the value predicted for their age (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/health/archer-basal-metabolic-rate
@misc{campagna2026_metabolismobasalearcieri,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {An archer's basal metabolic rate does not differ from the value predicted for their age},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/health/archer-basal-metabolic-rate},
note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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