LECTURE 3

Question 1

what is a pedometer

Answer 1

mechanism motion sensor that you wear on wrist or belt

just counts steps

Question 2

what are the limitations of Pedometers?

Answer 2

• because it JUST counts steps, it cannot be used for static type exercises (weight lifting etc..)

Question 3

how does pedometers relate to health outcomes?

Answer 3

• measuring steps/min allows you to determine the intensity of exercise (METS) and thus how beneficial it is
• see slide 15
• steps at a certian speed can be very beneficial to the health -> pedometers allows you to measure the speed at which how many steps are taken
• use pedometers to look at change - for interventions such as 10000 step challenege etc..

Question 4

explain why results of two+ ppl walking at the same speed and doing the same movement could be different/large range?

Answer 4

• different sensitiy within each pedometer - some mechanical, experimental
• step length - sarah have shorter steps than Dan therefore sarah would be doing more steps in a day/time frame
• wear locations is another factor - wrist/waist can influence measurment results

Question 5

what are some advantages with pedometers?

Answer 5

• pretty cheap
• easy to administer
• low particpant burden
• all age groups can wear it
• feasible for larger studies

Question 6

what are some disadvantages with pedometers?

Answer 6

• only measures steps -> T.F -> no info about intensity, frequency, duration PA
• NOT sensitive to all forms of PA -> weight lifting
• step count influenced by MANY factors - including how big your steps are, type of activity (run, walking - running will look like you are less active), where you put the pedometer

Question 7

what are the advantages of acceleromters?

Answer 7

• measures many dimensions of PA - x,y,z axis
• easy to administer
• low participant burden
• non-reactive - If watch face kept blank, or wear the accelerometer on the waist
• depending on the accelerometer - CAN be feasbile for larger studies

Question 8

what are the disadvantages of accelerometers?

Answer 8

• can be expensive
• limitations on data processing - (pattern recognisition i.e recognising patterns and associating them to specific PA types) still not as accurte as it should be

Question 9

what are the advantages/disadvanatges of new technology monitors?

Answer 9

• good for measuring sleep and steps
• good for potential aid in behaviour change
• little data on how they work - how do they estimate moderate-vigirious PA
• alot of variety in measured MVPA - alot of error when deciding if you are meeting PA guidelines or not