title: Should all steps count when using a pedometer as a measure of physical activity in older adults?
creator: Marshall, Alison L.
subject: 111799 Public Health and Health Services not elsewhere classified
subject: randomized trial
subject: measurement
subject: walking
subject: mailed materials
description: AIM: Does feedback on step counts from a pedometer encourage participants to increase walking?      METHODS: Randomly recruited older adults (n=105) were asked to wear a pedometer for 2-weeks.  Half the participants were asked to monitor and record daily step counts during week one (feedback), then seal the pedometer shut during week two (no-feedback). Half completed the study in reverse order.  Self-reported walking was assessed via telephone interviews.    RESULTS: Significantly more steps were recorded per day (approximately 400 steps per day) when participants (n=103, 63% women; mean BMI 25±4) monitored their daily step count (t (102) = -2.30, p=0.02) compared to the no-feedback condition. There was no statistically significant difference in self-reported walking (p=0.31) between feedback conditions.    CONCLUSION: The difference in daily step counts observed between conditions, whilst statistically significant, may not be considered clinically significant. Further, the non-significant difference in self-reported walking between conditions suggests that feedback on daily step counts from a pedometer does not encourage participants to increase their walking.
publisher: Human Kinetics
date: 2007-07
type: Journal Article
format: application/pdf
relation: https://eprints.qut.edu.au/13936/1/13936.pdf
relation:    Marshall, Alison L.   (2007)    Should all steps count when using a pedometer as a measure of physical activity in older adults?  Journal of Physical Activity and Health (JPAH), 4(3), pp. 305-314.    
identifier: https://eprints.qut.edu.au/13936/
rights: Copyright 2007 Human Kinetics
rights: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.
source: Centre for Health Research; Faculty of Health; Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation