ACCURACY OF 5 ELECTRONIC PEDOMETERS FOR MEASURING DISTANCE WALKED

This is a three-part study that examined the accuracy of five brands o f electronic pedometers (Freestyle Pacer, Eddie Bauer, L.L. Bean, Yama x, and Accusplit) under a variety of different conditions. In Part I, 20 subjects walked a 4.88-km sidewalk course while wearing two devices of the same brand (on the left and right side of the body) for each o f five different trials. There were significant differences among pedo meters (P < 0.05), with the Yamax, Pacer, and Accusplit approximating the actual distance more closely than the other models. The Yamax pedo meters showed close agreement, but the left and right Pacer pedometers differed significantly (P = 0.0003) and the Accusplit displayed a sim ilar trend (P = 0.0657). In Part II, the effects of walking surface on pedometer accuracy were examined. Ten of the original subjects comple ted an additional five trials around a 400-m rubberized outdoor track. The devices showed similar values for sidewalk and track surfaces. In Part III, the effects of walking speed on pedometer accuracy were exa mined. Ten different subjects walked on a treadmill at various speeds (54, 67, 80, 94, and 107 m . min(-1)). Pedometers that displayed both distance and number of steps were examined. The Yamax was more accurat e than the Pacer and Eddie Bauer at slow-to-moderate speeds (P < 0.05) , though no significant differences were seen at the fastest speed. Wh ile there are variations among brands in terms of accuracy, electronic pedometers may prove useful in recording walking activities in free-l iving populations.