The Impact of Valid Pedometer Days on Average Daily Steps and Wear Time in Children

Abstract

Pedometers reliably measure physical activity with established guidelines regarding wear time for hours per day, days per week, and minimum and maximum steps to provide sufficient data. This paper examined children in grades 3 to 6 for potential differences in average steps and average wear time according to the number of days of pedometer data with at least 10 hours of self-reported wear time and steps between 1000 and 30,000. As part of the Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy, physical activity data for a maximum of seven consecutive days were obtained from 852 (girls n=465; boys n=387) children using Piezo RX Steps Count pedometers. Average daily step count was 11,767 ± 3,284, slightly less than recommended; average self-reported wear time was 12.9 ± 0.9 hours. One-way ANOVAs demonstrated significant differences in average daily steps and average daily wear time between girls and boys and between grades. ANOVAs also examined differences in daily steps and wear time of the children when grouped according to valid days of pedometer data (1-2, 3-4, 5-6, and 7 days). In general, younger children (i.e., grades 3 & 4) wore the pedometer for less time than older children (i.e., grades 5 & 6). Given the significant differences in steps according to pedometer wear time found in this study, we may not be obtaining a thorough understanding of children’s physical activity behaviours. It may be helpful to include children with fewer than three days of pedometer wear time data to provide a better understanding of children’s physical activity levels as a whole and in particular for promoting physical activity for boys girls in varying grades.