The pedometer is a widely used research tool for measuring the level and extent of physical activity (PA) within population subgroups. The sample used in this study was drawn from a population of university students to examine the influence of the monitoring interval and alternate starting days on step-count activity patterns. The study was part of a national project during 2008-2010. Eligible subjects (641) were selected from a sample of 906 university students. The students wore pedometers continuously for 7 days excluding time for sleep and personal hygiene. Steps per day were logged on record sheets by each student. Data gathering spanned an entire week, and the results were sorted by alternate starting days, by activity for an entire week, by activity for only the weekdays of the one-week monitoring interval and for the two-day weekend. The statistical analysis included ANOVA, intra-class correlation (ICC) analysis, and regression analysis. The ICC analysis suggested that monitoring starting on Monday (ICC = 0.71; 95%CI (0.61-0.79)), Tuesday (ICC = 0.67; 95%CI (0.59-0.75)) or Thursday (ICC = 0.68; 95%CI (0.55-0.79)) improved reliability. The results of regression analysis also indicated that any starting day except Sunday is satisfactory as long as a minimum of four days of monitoring are used.

Center for Kinanthropology Research Institute of Active Lifestyle Faculty of Physical Culture Palacky University in Olomouc Tr Miru 115 Olomouc 77111 Czech Republic

Zobrazit více v PubMed

US Department of Health and Human Services. 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. US Department of Health and Human Services; Washington, DC, USA: 2008.

Gordon-Larsen P., McMurray R.G., Popkin B.M. Determinants of adolescent physical activity and inactivity patterns. Pediatrics. 2000;105 doi: 10.1542/peds.105.6.e83. PubMed DOI

Tammelin T., Nayha S., Hills A., Jarvelin M. Adolescent participation in sports and adult physical activity. Amer. J. Prev. Med. 2003;24:22–28. doi: 10.1016/S0749-3797(02)00575-5. PubMed DOI

Telama R., Yang X., Viikari J., Valimaki I., Wanne O., Raitakari O. Physical activity from childhood to adulthood: A 21-year tracking study. Amer. J. Prev. Med. 2005;28:267–273. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2004.12.003. PubMed DOI

de Vries S.I., van Hirtum H.W., Bakker I., Hopman-Rock M., Hirasing R.A., van Mechelen W. Validity and reproducibility of motion sensors in youth: A systematic update. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 2009;41:818–827. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e31818e5819. PubMed DOI

Welk G.J. Physical Activity Assessment for Health-Related Research. Human Kinetics; Champaign, IL, USA: 2002.

US Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy People 2010: Understanding and Improving Health. U.S. Government Printing Office; Washington, DC, USA: 2000.

National Association for Sport and Physical Education. College/university physical activity instruction programs: A critical piece in the education of young adults. Strategies. 2007;20:20–22. doi: 10.1080/08924562.2007.10590745. DOI

de Cocker K., de Bourdeaudhuij I., Cardon G.M. What do pedometer counts represent? A comparison between pedometer data and data from four different questionnaires. Public Health Nutr. 2009;12:74–81. doi: 10.1017/S1368980008001973. PubMed DOI

Tudor-Locke C.E., Williams J.E., Reis J.P., Pluto D. Utility of pedometers for assessing physical activity: Convergent validity. Sport. Med. 2002;32:795–808. doi: 10.2165/00007256-200232120-00004. PubMed DOI

Crouter S.E., Schneider P.L., Karabulut M., Bassett D.R., Jr. Validity of 10 electronic pedometers for measuring steps, distance, and energy cost. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 2003;35:1455–1460. doi: 10.1249/01.MSS.0000078932.61440.A2. PubMed DOI

Trost S.G., McIver K.L., Pate R.R. Conducting accelerometer-based activity assessments in field-based research. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 2005;37:S531–S543. doi: 10.1249/01.mss.0000185657.86065.98. PubMed DOI

Rowe D.A., Kemble C.D., Robinson T.S., Mahar M.T. Daily walking in older adults: Day-to-day variability and criterion-referenced validity of total daily step counts. J. Phys. Act. Health. 2007;4:434–446. PubMed

Sigmund E., Sigmundová D. Pohybová aktivita pro podporu zdraví dětí a mládeže. Univerzita Palackého; Olomouc, Czech Republic: 2011.

Cardon G., de Bourdeaudhuij I. A pilot study comparing pedometer counts with reported physical activity in elementary schoolchildren. Pediatr. Exerc. Sci. 2004;16:355–367.

Silva P., Mota J., Esliger D., Welk G. Technical reliability assessment of the actigraph GT1M accelerometer. Meas. Phys. Educ. Exerc. Sci. 2010;14:79–91. doi: 10.1080/10913671003715524. DOI

Gretebeck R.J., Montoye H.J. Variability of some objective measures of physical activity. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 1992;24:1167–1172. PubMed

Tudor-Locke C.E., Burkett L., Reis J.P., Ainsworth B.E., Macera C.A., Wilson D.K. How many days of pedometer monitoring predict weekly physical activity in adults? Prevent. Med. 2005;40:293–298. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2004.06.003. PubMed DOI

Craig C.L., Tudor- Locke C., Cragg S., Cameron C. Process and treatment of pedometer data collection for youth: The Canadian physical activity levels among youth study. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 2010;42:430–435. PubMed

Sigmundová D., El Ansari W., Sigmund E. Neighbourhood environment correlates of physical activity: A study of eight czech regional towns. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2011;8:341–357. doi: 10.3390/ijerph8020341. PubMed DOI PMC

Davis J.N., Hodges V.A., Gillham M.B. Physical activity compliance: Differences between overweight/obese and normal-weight adults. Obesity. 2006;14:2259–2265. doi: 10.1038/oby.2006.265. PubMed DOI

Burton N.W., Khan A., Brown W.J., Turrell G. The association between sedentary leisure and physical activity in middle-aged adults. Brit. J. Sport. Med. 2012;46:747–752. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.2010.081430. PubMed DOI

Sigmund E., Croix M.D.S., Miklánková L., Frömel K. Physical activity patterns of kindergarten children in comparison to teenagers and young adults. Eur. J. Public. Health. 2007;17:646–651. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckm033. PubMed DOI

Baranowski T.O.M., Masse L.C., Ragan B., Welk G. How many days was that? We’re still not sure, but we’re asking the question better! Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 2008;40:S544–S549. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e31817c6651. PubMed DOI PMC

Clemes S.A., Deans N.K. Presence and duration of reactivity to pedometers in adults. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 2012;44:1097–1101. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e318242a377. PubMed DOI

Raines-Eudy R. Using Structural Equation Modeling to test for differential reliability and validity: An empirical demonstration. Struct. Equ. Modeling. 2000;7:124–141. doi: 10.1207/S15328007SEM0701_07. DOI

Rowe D.A., Mahar M.T., Raedeke T.D., Lore J. Measuring physical activity in children with pedometers: Reliability, reactivity, and replacement of missing data. Pediatr. Exerc. Sci. 2004;16:343–354.

Kang M., Hart P.D., Kim Y. Establishing a threshold for the number of missing days using 7 d pedometer data. Physiol. Meas. 2012;33:1877–1885. doi: 10.1088/0967-3334/33/11/1877. PubMed DOI

Bassett D.R., Jr., Ainsworth B.E., Leggett S.R., Mathien C.A., Main J.A., Hunter D.C., Duncan G.E. Accuracy of five electronic pedometers for measuring distance walked. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 1996;28:1071–1077. doi: 10.1097/00005768-199608000-00019. PubMed DOI

World Health Organisation. Obesity: Preventing and Managing the Global Epidemic: Report of a WHO Consultation. World Health Organisation; Geneva, Switzerland: 2000. PubMed

Trost S.G., Pate R.R., Freedson P.S., Sallis J.F., Taylor W.C. Using objective physical activity measures with youth: How many days of monitoring are needed? Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 2000;32:426–431. PubMed

Stone M.R., Esliger D.W., Tremblay M.S. Comparative validity assessment of five activity monitors: Does being a child matter? Pediatr. Exerc. Sci. 2007;19:291–309. PubMed

Schneider P.L., Crouter S.E., Bassett D.R., Jr. Pedometer measures of free-living physical activity: Comparison of 13 models. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 2004;36:331–335. doi: 10.1249/01.MSS.0000113486.60548.E9. PubMed DOI

Frömel K., Stelzer J., Groffik D., Ernest J. Physical activity of children ages 6–8: The beginning of school attendance. J. Res. Child. Edu. 2008;23:29–40.

Behrens T.K., Dinger M.K. Motion sensor reactivity in physically active young adults. Res. Q. Exerc. Sport. 2007;78:1–8. PubMed

Vašíčková J., Frömel K., Nykodým J. Physical activity recommendation and its association with demographic variables in Czech university students. Acta Universitatis Palackianea Olomucensis Gymnica. 2008;38:75–84.

Atkinson G., Nevill A.M. Statistical methods for assessing measurement error (reliability) in variables relevant to sports medicine. Sport. Med. 1998;26:217–238. doi: 10.2165/00007256-199826040-00002. PubMed DOI

Bot S.D.M., Terwee C.B., van der Windt D.A.W.M., Bouter L.M., Dekker J., de Vet H.C.W. Psychometric Evaluation of Self-Report Questionnaires—The Development of a Checklist, Proceedings of the Second Workshop on Research Methodology; VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 25–27 June 2003.

Traub R.E. Reliability for the Social Sciences: Theory and Applications. Sage; Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: 1994.

Baranowski T., Smith M., Thompson W.O., Baranowski J., Hebert D., de Moor C. Intraindividual variability and reliability in a 7-day exercise record. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 1999;31:1619–1622. doi: 10.1097/00005768-199911000-00019. PubMed DOI

Levin S., Ainsworth B.E., Kwok C.W., Addy C.L., Popkin B.M. Patterns of physical activity among Russian youth—The Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey. Eur. J. Public. Health. 1999;9:166–173.

Matthews C.E., Freedson P.S., Hebert J.R., Stanek E.J., III, Merriam P.A., Rosal M.C., Ebbeling C.B., Ockene I.S. Seasonal variation in household, occupational, and leisure time physical activity: Longitudinal analyses from the seasonal variation of blood cholesterol study. Amer. J. Epidemiol. 2001;153:172–183. doi: 10.1093/aje/153.2.172. PubMed DOI

Vincent S.D., Pangrazi R.P. Does reactivity exist in children when measuring activity levels with pedometers?/La reactivite existe-t-elle chez des enfants lorsque que l’ on mesure leur niveau d’ activite a l’ aide d’ un podometre? Pediatr. Exerc. Sci. 2002;14:56–63.

Baranowski T., Moor C.D. How many days was that? Intra-individual variability and physical activity assessment. Res. Q. Exerc. Sport. 2000;71:74–78. PubMed

Parent-child associations in pedometer-determined physical activity and sedentary behaviour on weekdays and weekends in random samples of families in the Czech Republic