Is wearing a pedometer associated with higher physical activity among adolescents?

Abstract

ObjectiveTo examine whether wearing a pedometer was associated with higher objectively-measured physical activity (PA) among adolescents independent of other behavior change strategies, and whether this association differed by sex or day of wear.MethodIn a parallel-group population-based cohort study, 892 adolescents (43.4% male, mean ± SD age, 14.5 ± 0.5 years) from Eastern England were recruited. PA was measured (in 2005–2006) by accelerometry over four days; a sub-group (n = 345) wore a pedometer coterminously with the accelerometer. Three-level (individual, day of wear and school level) multiple linear regression was used to examine the association between accelerometry (counts/min, cpm) and pedometer wear, stratified by sex and adjusted for weekday/weekend.ResultsFor the entire cohort, there was a significant decline in cpm over four days (p < 0.01). Girls wearing pedometers had higher mean cpm than those not wearing a pedometer, independent of BMI z-score, socio-economic status, weekday/weekend, and school clustering (β = 5.1; 95% CI: 0.8 to 9.5, p = 0.02). This association was not seen in boys.ConclusionPedometer wear was associated with higher PA among adolescent girls, but not boys. Findings may support sex-specific intervention strategies. In addition to pedometer monitoring, additional strategies may be required to promote PA levels, especially among boys.

Middle School Students’ Free-living Physical Activity on Physical Education Days, Non-physical Education Days, and Weekends

“…This may be due to the novelty of the new technology piquing the students' interest followed by the eventual, yet relatively quick, return to normal levels. Prior research examines the motivational effect of activity monitors showed a significant decline in PA from the beginning to the end of data collection (Ho et al, 2013), mirroring data in this research. Ho et al (2013) showed that girls who wore an activity monitor had more steps than those who did not.…”

“…Prior research examines the motivational effect of activity monitors showed a significant decline in PA from the beginning to the end of data collection (Ho et al, 2013), mirroring data in this research. Ho et al (2013) showed that girls who wore an activity monitor had more steps than those who did not. It is difficult to generalize findings from the current study as it spanned a considerably longer period of data monitoring than past studies using accelerometers.…”

“…When students first received their MOVBands, many were observed instantly running around and jumping rope or even doing cartwheels to see how those movements measured up to steps in their accelerometer. The study of Ho et al (2013) noted the possibility of higher PA associated with the use of an activity monitor but noted that it was short-lived and mainly associated with girls, which could further explain the spike at the first data collection time. A review on whether pedometers increased PA in intervention studies showed a moderate and positive increase in PA levels (Kang, Marshall, Barreira & Lee, 2009), which may partially explain the peak of PA at Week 1 in this study.…”

“…Youth PA levels have been monitored in various ways, ranging from PA interventions with researcher observation such as SOFIT (McKenzie, Sallis & Nader, 1991), self-report instruments, such as 3DPAR (Pate et al, 2003), as well as activity monitors, such as accelerometers (Stewart, Dennison, Kohl & Doyle, 2004) and pedometers (Ho et al, 2013). The free-living PA of middle school students has not often been measured, especially for an extended time.…”

Physical Activity and Health-Promoting Lifestyle of Student Nurses in Malaysia

“…Moreover, the estimates of physical activity across the week might be alarmingly lower than what was observed in this study as the pedometer for adolescents and adults often report increased step count per day just by wearing it. This behaviour is called reactivity and is commonly reported especially among female pedometer users [27]- [29]. In other words, it was very likely that Malaysian student nurses did even less walking than was recorded by the pedometer.…”