Pedometers motivate exercise

Pedometers motivate exercise

With 2008 quickly approaching, you might be mulling over a New Year’s resolution to do more exercising. And if walking is your exercise of choice, then a $20 investment might help considerably in keeping your resolution on track.

Researchers at Stanford University wanted to find out if the use of pedometers to count steps might also serve as a motivational tool.

The Stanford team found 26 different studies that followed more than 2,700 subjects with an average age of 49. Analysis of the studies showed that exercisers increased their physical activity by nearly 27 percent after they started using pedometers.

The average study length was 18 weeks, and over that period pedometer use was shown to accelerate weight loss and significantly decrease systolic blood pressure.

But researchers say that increased motivation requires two important elements: 1) Subjects who kept a daily step diary significantly increased the number of steps they took, and 2) Subjects who didn’t set step count goals failed to significantly increase their physical activity.

Some pedometers cost as little as $5, but an Associated Press report on the Stanford study notes that reliable models usually cost about $20.

Sources:
“Using Pedometers to Increase Physical Activity and Improve Health” Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 298, No. 19, 11/21/07, jama.ama-assn.org
“Studies: Pedometers Motivate Fitness” Associated Press, 11/21/07, ap.org