Scheduled for The Consortium of Research in HPERD and Social, Wednesday, April 2, 2003, 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM, Convention Center: Exhibit Hall A


Accumulating 10,000 Steps: Does This Target Meet the Current Physical Activity Guidelines?

Guy C. Le Masurier1, Cara L. Sidman2 and Charles B. Corbin1, (1)Arizona State University-East, Mesa, AZ, (2)James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

The purpose of this study was to determine whether taking 10,000 steps in a day is equivalent to meeting the current physical activity guidelines of accumulating 30 minutes of moderate physical activity (MPA). Fifty-nine women between the ages of 20 and 65 wore a Yamax pedometer and CSA accelerometer (CSA) concurrently on their right hip for one day. The CSA was configured to collect data in one-minute segments. CSA measured MPA was determined from the following equation established by Freedson et al. (1998): METs=1.439 + (0.000795 · counts/min). The count range for MPA based on this equation is 1952-5724 counts/min (3-5.9 METs). Time spent in moderate physical activity (MPA) was calculated by summing all minutes of physical activity above 1952 counts/min. Independent t-tests were used to determine if differences in descriptive and measured variables existed between participants that accumulated at least 10,000 steps (10K+, n=35) and participants that accumulated less than 10,000 steps (<10K, n=24). There were no differences in the age, BMI, or the amount of time the pedometers and CSA accelerometers were worn between the 10K+ and the <10K groups. The 10K+ group accumulated significantly more steps and more minutes of MPA than the <10K group (M ± SD: 13,084 ± 440 steps vs. 7518 ± 400 steps and 62.1 ± 4.7 min vs. 38.8 ± 7.9 min; p< 0.05). Of the 35 participants in the 10K+ group, 32 (91%) accumulated more than 30 minutes of MPA. Of the 24 participants in the <10K group, 18 (75%) accumulated more than 30 minutes of MPA. When considering only continuous bouts of 5 minutes and longer, 27 participants (77%) in the 10K+ group and only 7 participants (29%) in the <10K group accumulated 30 minutes of MPA. When considering only continuous bouts of 10 minutes and longer, 18 participants (51%) in the 10K+ and 4 participants (17%) in the <10K groups accumulated 30 minutes of MPA. A greater proportion of participants who took 10,000 steps/day accumulated the 30 minutes of MPA in continuous bouts of physical activity. Our results provide some evidence that, for women, accumulating 10,000 steps in a day is an effective target for meeting current physical activity guidelines. However, more research utilizing the CSA’s ability to measure the patterns and intensity of physical activity is needed to validate the 10,000 steps/day target.

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