What this calculator does
The DASI score, short for Duke Activity Status Index, is a 12-question self-report tool that estimates how much physical activity a person can manage day to day. Each question describes a task, from personal care through to strenuous sport, and each carries its own fixed weight based on how much energy that task typically demands. Answering yes to a task adds its weight to the running total; the final score can range from 0 to 58.20.
The score by itself is a number, so the DASI is usually converted into an estimated peak oxygen uptake (VO2) and then into METs, the standard unit for describing exercise intensity relative to resting metabolism. Clinicians sometimes use this estimate before surgery, alongside other information, to get a rough sense of a patient's exercise tolerance without needing a formal treadmill test. This calculator runs the 12 questions and the standard conversion formula; it is informational only and does not replace assessment by a treating clinician.
The formula
Answer each of the 12 activity questions with yes or no, based on what you can currently do without stopping because of symptoms such as breathlessness, chest pain or fatigue. Each "yes" answer adds that item's fixed weight to the total DASI score. The score is then converted to an estimated peak VO2 (oxygen uptake in millilitres per kilogram of body weight per minute) using the published regression, and that figure is divided by 3.5 to give an estimated METs value, since one MET is defined as 3.5 mL/kg/min.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| DASI | Duke Activity Status Index, the sum of weights for every activity answered yes, out of a maximum of 58.20 |
| VO2 | Peak oxygen uptake, estimated from the DASI score using peak VO2 = 0.43 x DASI + 9.6 |
| METs | Metabolic equivalents, VO2 divided by 3.5, a standard scale for describing exercise intensity |
The inputs explained
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Take care of yourself: eating, dressing, bathing or using the toilet (2.75 points if yes) | Basic self-care: eating, dressing, bathing or using the toilet without help |
| Walk indoors, such as around your house (1.75 points if yes) | Walking around inside your own home |
| Walk a block or two on level ground (2.75 points if yes) | Walking one or two blocks on flat ground at a normal pace |
| Climb a flight of stairs or walk up a hill (5.50 points if yes) | Climbing a full flight of stairs, or walking up a hill, without stopping |
| Run a short distance (8.00 points if yes) | Running a short distance, such as to catch a bus |
| Do light work around the house like dusting or washing dishes (2.70 points if yes) | Light housework such as dusting or washing dishes |
| Do moderate work around the house like vacuuming, sweeping floors or carrying groceries (3.50 points if yes) | Moderate housework such as vacuuming, sweeping or carrying groceries |
| Do heavy work around the house like scrubbing floors or lifting/moving heavy furniture (8.00 points if yes) | Heavy housework such as scrubbing floors or moving furniture |
| Do yard work like raking leaves, weeding or pushing a power mower (4.50 points if yes) | Yard work such as raking leaves, weeding or pushing a mower |
| Have sexual relations (5.25 points if yes) | Sexual activity |
| Take part in moderate recreational activities like golf, bowling, dancing, doubles tennis or throwing a baseball (6.00 points if yes) | Moderate recreation such as golf, bowling, dancing or doubles tennis |
| Take part in strenuous sports like swimming, singles tennis, football, basketball or skiing (7.50 points if yes) | Strenuous sport such as swimming laps, singles tennis, football, basketball or skiing |
When to use it
Before a pre-operative assessment
A treating clinician may ask a patient to complete a DASI-style questionnaire as one input into estimating exercise tolerance ahead of surgery, alongside other clinical findings. This calculator can show what the resulting score and estimated METs look like, but the actual clinical decision should always come from the clinician, not from this page.
Tracking activity capacity over time
Someone recovering from an illness or a period of inactivity might answer the same 12 questions every few weeks to see whether the answers, and therefore the score, are trending upward as they regain capacity for daily tasks.
Understanding what a MET level means
The DASI-derived METs figure gives a rough, informal sense of how the activities someone can currently manage compare to standard exercise-intensity benchmarks, which can be a more concrete way to think about capacity than the raw score alone.
Worked examples
Every figure in the tables below is produced by this page’s own calculator at build time, so the numbers and the tool always agree. Select any row to load that scenario.
How does answering yes to more activities change the score?
This table starts from answering no to every item and adds one more "yes" at a time, roughly in order of the higher-weighted activities from the calculator, to show how the score and estimated METs build up.
What does a full DASI score of 58.20 estimate?
This compares answering yes to everything against answering no to everything, showing the full spread the calculator can produce.
| Can run a short distance | DASI score | Estimated VO2 | Estimated METs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 58.20 of 58.20 | 34.6 mL/kg/min | 9.89 |
| No | 50.20 of 58.20 | 31.2 mL/kg/min | 8.91 |
Questions
What is the DASI score used for?
It is a simple, low-cost way to estimate someone's functional exercise capacity from self-reported answers about everyday tasks, most often used as one piece of information in pre-operative risk assessment. It is not a diagnosis and does not replace a formal exercise test where one is clinically indicated.
Why do the 12 questions have different weights?
Each activity was assigned a weight based on its typical metabolic cost, so tasks that demand more energy, such as running or strenuous sport, add more to the score than lighter tasks such as walking indoors. The weights come from the original published Duke Activity Status Index.
How is the METs figure calculated from the score?
The DASI score is first converted to an estimated peak VO2 using the formula VO2 = 0.43 x DASI + 9.6, in millilitres of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute. That figure is then divided by 3.5, the standard resting oxygen cost that defines one MET, to give the estimated METs value.
Can this calculator diagnose a heart or lung condition?
No. It only reproduces the standard published DASI questions, weights and conversion formula for informational purposes. Any concerns about exercise tolerance, breathlessness or symptoms during activity should be discussed with a treating clinician who can consider the full clinical picture.
For a related oxygenation measure sometimes used alongside functional capacity in a clinical setting, see the PF ratio calculator, or for body composition context see the waist-to-hip ratio calculator.