Step Counting: A Review of Measurement Considerations and Health-Related Applications - PubMed (original) (raw)

Review

David R Bassett Jr et al. Sports Med. 2017 Jul.

Abstract

Step counting has long been used as a method of measuring distance. Starting in the mid-1900s, researchers became interested in using steps per day to quantify ambulatory physical activity. This line of research gained momentum after 1995, with the introduction of reasonably accurate spring-levered pedometers with digital displays. Since 2010, the use of accelerometer-based "activity trackers" by private citizens has skyrocketed. Steps have several advantages as a metric for assessing physical activity: they are intuitive, easy to measure, objective, and they represent a fundamental unit of human ambulatory activity. However, since they measure a human behavior, they have inherent biological variability; this means that measurements must be made over 3-7 days to attain valid and reliable estimates. There are many different kinds of step counters, designed to be worn on various sites on the body; all of these devices have strengths and limitations. In cross-sectional studies, strong associations between steps per day and health variables have been documented. Currently, at least eight prospective, longitudinal studies using accelerometers are being conducted that may help to establish dose-response relationships between steps/day and health outcomes. Longitudinal interventions using step counters have shown that they can help inactive individuals to increase by 2500 steps per day. Step counting is useful for surveillance, and studies have been conducted in a number of countries around the world. Future challenges include the need to establish testing protocols and accuracy standards, and to decide upon the best placement sites. These challenges should be addressed in order to achieve harmonization between studies, and to accurately quantify dose-response relationships.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Competing interests

David R. Bassett, Jr. is a member of the scientific advisory board of ActiGraph, L.L.C. Lindsay P. Toth, Samuel R. LaMunion, and Scott E. Crouter have no competing interests.

Funding

No financial support was received for the development and preparation of this manuscript.

Authors’ contributions

All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Figures

Fig. 1

Fig. 1

Relationship between locomotive speeds and rates of caloric expenditure. Reproduced from Hatano et al. [34] with permission

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Stunkard A. A method of studying physical activity in man. Am J Clin Nutr. 1960;8:595–600.
    1. Bassett DR, Strath SJ. Use of pedometers to assess physical activity. In: Welk GJ, editor. Physical activity assessments for health-related research. Champaign: Human Kinetics; 2002. pp. 163–177.
    1. Singer E. The measured life. In: MIT Technology review. 2011. https://www.technologyreview.com/s/424390/the-measured-life/. Accessed 12 July 2011.
    1. Statista. Number of Fitbit devices sold worldwide from 2010 to 2015. 2016. http://www.statista.com/statistics/472591/fitbit-devices-sold/. Accessed 15 July 2016.
    1. Bassett DR, Jr, Mahar MT, Rowe DA, Morrow JR., Jr Walking and measurement. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2008;40(7 Suppl):S529–S536. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e31817c699c. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources