Abstract
ObjectiveTo examine whether wearing a pedometer was associated with higher objectively-measured physical activity (PA) among adolescents independent of other behavior change strategies, and whether this association differed by sex or day of wear. MethodIn a parallel-group population-based cohort study, 892 adolescents (43.4% male, mean±SD age, 14.5±0.5years) from Eastern England were recruited. PA was measured (in 2005–2006) by accelerometry over four days; a sub-group (n=345) wore a pedometer coterminously with the accelerometer. Three-level (individual, day of wear and school level) multiple linear regression was used to examine the association between accelerometry (counts/min, cpm) and pedometer wear, stratified by sex and adjusted for weekday/weekend. ResultsFor the entire cohort, there was a significant decline in cpm over four days (p<0.01). Girls wearing pedometers had higher mean cpm than those not wearing a pedometer, independent of BMI z-score, socio-economic status, weekday/weekend, and school clustering (β=5.1; 95% CI: 0.8 to 9.5, p=0.02). This association was not seen in boys. ConclusionPedometer wear was associated with higher PA among adolescent girls, but not boys. Findings may support sex-specific intervention strategies. In addition to pedometer monitoring, additional strategies may be required to promote PA levels, especially among boys.
Highlights
Insufficient physical activity (PA) among young people is associated with increased risk of obesity and related metabolic disorders (Ekelund et al, 2012)
A promising avenue of PA promotion among adolescents is self-monitoring of behavior (Michie et al, 2009) which may improve awareness of PA levels (Corder et al, 2011)
In the current study we examined whether wearing a pedometer was associated with
Summary
Insufficient physical activity (PA) among young people is associated with increased risk of obesity and related metabolic disorders (Ekelund et al, 2012). Rapid decreases in PA occur during adolescence (Dumith et al, 2011) and track into adulthood (Telama et al, 2005). Adolescence is a critical period for promoting PA (Corder et al, 2010). Adolescent PA promotion interventions are often ineffective (Camacho-Miñano et al, 2011; Kriemler et al, 2011; van Sluijs et al, 2011); the reasons for this are largely unknown. One possibility is that adolescents are not aware that they are insufficiently active and are not susceptible to PA promotion (Corder et al, 2011). A promising avenue of PA promotion among adolescents is self-monitoring of behavior (Michie et al, 2009) which may improve awareness of (inadequate) PA levels (Corder et al, 2011)
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