BACKGROUND The number of days of pedometer or accelerometer data needed to reliably assess physical activity (PA) is important for research that examines the relationship with health. While this important research has been completed in young to middle-aged adults, data is lacking in older adults. Further, data determining the number of days of self-reports PA data is also void. The purpose of t...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to conduct a secondary analysis by combining 2 pedometer data sets to describe and analyze pedometer-determined steps/day of children by ethnicity and metropolitan status. METHODS Participants were 582 children (309 girls, 273 boys; 53% Hispanic, 26% Caucasian, 21% African American) age 10 to 11 years (M = 10.37 +/- 0.48) attending 1 of 10 schools loca...

OBJECTIVE To explore the amount of practice and progression during task-oriented circuit training (TOCT) in chronic stroke survivors; to test the use of pedometers and observation-based measures in detecting step activity; to verify the possible correlation between step activity and locomotor function improvements. METHODS Six community-dwelling chronic stroke survivors underwent 10 TOCT sess...

PURPOSE This study aimed to examine the presence and duration of reactivity to wearing a pedometer and recording daily step counts in free-living adults. METHODS On the first visit to the laboratory, 90 participants (69% were females, age = 26.8 ± 13.0 yr, body mass index = 23.4 ± 4.0 kg·m(-2)), blinded to the study aim, were provided with a sealed pedometer (New Lifestyles NL-800) and inform...

CONTEXT Without detailed evidence of their effectiveness, pedometers have recently become popular as a tool for motivating physical activity. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the association of pedometer use with physical activity and health outcomes among outpatient adults. DATA SOURCES English-language articles from MEDLINE, EMBASE, Sport Discus, PsychINFO, Cochrane Library, Thompson Scientific (for...

Most pedometers record cumulative steps, limiting ability to assess level of physical activity or nonwear periods. The SportBrain iStep X1 has potential to overcome this limitation by recording and storing step count data in 60-s epochs. We evaluated accuracy of this instrument in children and the duration of consecutive zero step count minutes that indicated nonwear time periods. Seventeen chi...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to compare steps·d-1 between an accelerometer and pedometer in 2 free-living samples. METHODS Data from 2 separate studies were used for this secondary analysis (Sample 1: N = 99, Male: n = 28, 20.9 ± 1.4 yrs, BMI = 27.2 ± 5.0 kg·m-2, Female: n = 71, 20.9 ± 1.7 yrs, BMI = 22.7 ± 3.0 kg·m-2; Sample 2: N = 74, Male: n = 27, 38.0 ± 9.5 yrs, BMI = 25.7 ± 4...

PURPOSE To examine the relationship between physical activity and (1) convenience of destinations, measured by whether destinations (such as a park, trail, businesses, and services) are within walking distance of the home, and (2) participants' perception of the quality of their neighborhood surroundings for walking, captured with a global neighborhood "walkability" rating. DESIGN Cross-secti...

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to determine if feedback on step counts from a pedometer encourages participants to increase walking. METHODS Randomly recruited older adults (n = 105) were asked to wear a pedometer for 2 wk. Half the participants were asked to monitor and record daily step counts during week 1 (feedback), then seal the pedometer shut during week 2 (no feedback). Half comple...

BACKGROUND Pedometer-based recommendations for accumulating steps/d largely focus on volume, with less emphasis on intensity and fitness/health outcomes. We aim to examine this relationship. METHODS A convenience sample (N = 70, 35 men, 32 ± 8yrs) wore a pedometer (4 days). The pedometer classified steps as "aerobic" (≥ 60 steps/minute, minimum duration of 1 minute) or "non-aerobic" (< 60 ste...