We thought it would be interesting to design a ‘healthy’ Easter egg hunt for kids. We’re defining ‘healthy’, as a hunt that is energy neutral – that is, the children expend as much energy hunting, as they take in by ‘eating’.
Let’s go with some basic assumptions.
A Cadbury Creme Egg contains 170 calories of energy.
The average nine year old weighs about 30kg.
Said nine year old should be able to move (walk/run) at 7km / hour.
So the question is, how far apart do the eggs have to be hidden for the kid to expend the same amount of energy in finding them as they consume by scoffing their prize?
Well, a 30kg child moving at 7km / hour, to burn 170 calories, will have to run for 56 minutes! PER EGG!
So here’s you simple guide to Easter Egg Hunt Design.
| Number of Easter Eggs | Minutes of Running Required | Total Distance to be Covered |
| 1 | 56 | 6.5km |
| 2 | 112 | 13km |
| 3 | 168 | 19.5km |
| 4 | 224 | 26km |
| 5 | 280 | 32.5km |
| 6 | 336 | 39km |
| 7 | 392 | 45.5km |
| 8 | 448 | 52km |
| 9 | 504 | 58.5km |
| 10 | 560 | 65km |
| 11 | 616 | 71.5km |
| 12 | 672 (yep, 11 hours!) | 78km |
If you feel like a day off, all you need to do is hide 26 eggs, and your child will be running, non stop, for the entire 24 hours of Easter. Feel like sending them on a Marathon? Seven eggs will do just that. Don’t forget you have to hide them though.
Puts it in perspective! Also goes to show that weight loss is much more dependant on dietary intake than energy expenditure.
But then again, it’s Easter. Enjoy!
