A Miner’s Calorie Consumption

What are your New Year’s Resolutions?

40% of people in the UK have resolved to loose weight.

This was an unlikely resolution for a miner pre-mechanisation. A typical miner would burn:

Calories/hour

Shovelling coal                                   476

Drilling coal                                         442

Erecting supports                                408

General tasks                                      402

Walking with a heavy load                  350

What would the total caloric needs be for an average coal miner?

A miner who has to walk several miles to get to the coal face carrying his heavy gear where he spent the day shovelling coal might burn the following amount of calories:

                                                                                                                            Calories

Walking one hour to coal face carrying 0.5 to 1 stone in weight of gear    350

Shovelling coal onto the conveyor belt for 5.5 hours (476 cal / hr)            2,600

Walking one hour to pit top carrying 0.5 to 1 stone in weight of gear        350

Work Total:                                                                                                             3,300

At home (light activity, walking, sleeping)                                                     1,500

TOTAL CALORIES                                                                                        4,800

The NHS currently recommends that the average man consumes only 2,500 calories a day so miners needed nearly double the number of calories a man would need now. This made their #Snap vitally important to miners.