| Description | In a recent report, entitled “Promoting Better Health for Young People Through Physical Activity and Sports”, 10 strategies for promoting participation in physical activity were highlighted (USDHHS/USDE, 2000). Specifically, strategy number 10 alludes to the fact that a national monitoring mechanism is needed for assessing physical activity levels. Assessing physical activity levels of children and young adolescents is of particular interest, because it is in these populations that objective assessment has been most problematic (Kohl et al., 2000; Welk et al., 2000). And, at the crux of the problem are the issues of practicality and objectivity. Therefore, the purpose of this symposium is to disseminate research in which youth physical activity levels were assessed via pedometry in structured physical activity programs. First, pedometry as an assessment technique will be introduced. This will be followed by presentations on: (a) validating the pedometer with heart rate telemetry in fifth-grade physical education, (b) assessing the contribution of physical education to daily activity levels via pedometry in young adolescents, (c) using pedometry to assess activity differences between structured and unstructured out-of-school programs, (d) assessing the impact of an after-school program on adolescent females total daily activity via pedometry, and (e) quantifying moderate to vigorous physical activity in physical education via pedometry. The symposium will conclude with the recommendation that pedometry demonstrates promise as a viable large scale physical activity surveillance technique that is both practical and objective. Surveillance through pedometry holds promise for health promotion target areas such as physical education and after-school programs. |