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Background: The purpose of this study was to compare steps·d-1 between an accelerometer and pedometer in 2 free-living samples., Methods: Data from 2 separate studies were used for this secondary analysis (Sample 1: N = 99, Male: n = 28, 20.9 ± 1.4 yrs, BMI = 27.2 ± 5.0 kg·m-2, Female: n = 71, 20.9 ± 1.7 yrs, BMI = 22.7 ± 3.0 kg·m-2; Sample 2: N = 74, Male: n = 27, 38.0 ± 9.5 yrs, BMI = 25.7 ± 4.5 kg·m-2, Female: n = 47, 38.7 ± 10.1 yrs, BMI = 24.6 ± 4.0 kg·m-2). Both studies used identical procedures and analytical strategies., Results: The mean difference in steps·d-1 for the week was 1643.4 steps·d-1 in Study 1 and 2199.4 steps·d-1 in Study 2. There were strong correlations between accelerometer- and pedometer-determined steps·d-1 in Study 1 (r = .85, P < .01) and Study 2 (r = 0.87, P < .01). Bland-Altman plots indicated agreement without bias between steps recorded from the devices in Study 1 (r = -0.14, P < .17) and Study 2 (r = -0.09, P < .40). Correlations examining the difference between accelerometer-pedometer steps·d-1 and MVPA resulted in small, inverse correlations (range: r = -0.03 to -0.28)., Conclusions: These results indicate agreement between accelerometer- and pedometer-determined steps·d-1; however, measurement bias may still exist because of known sensitivity thresholds between devices.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether young adults changed their physical activity (PA) behavior when wearing motion sensors. PA patterns of 119 young adults (M age = 20.82 years, SD = 1.50, M body mass index = 23.93 kg/m2, SD = 4.05) were assessed during 2 consecutive weeks. In Week 1, participants wore an accelerometer. During Week 2, participants wore an accelerometer and a pedometer Counts/day from the accelerometer were examined over the entire study period. Steps/day from the pedometer were examined during Week 2. Descriptive statistics and two-factor repeated-measures analysis of variance were calculated. There were significant differences in counts/day by study day during both weeks of the study (Week 1, p < .0001; Week 2, p < .0001), and steps/day during Week 2 (p < .0001). However, reactivity was not evident. Subsequent investigation by day of the week revealed these differences were due to changes in participants' PA behavior by weekdays and weekends. With respect to gender, men were more active than women during both weeks of monitoring, but daily PA behavior between the genders followed a similar pattern. In conclusion, reactivity to accelerometers and pedometers was not evident in this sample.

Purpose: This study was conducted to provide descriptive data of accelerometer-determined ambulatory physical activity in a sample of free-living college students and to examine college students' ambulatory physical activity patterns., Methods: All participants (245 females, age = 19.9 +/- 1.6 yr, body mass index (BMI) = 22.9 +/- 3.3 kg x m(-2); 209 males, age = 20.2 +/- 2.0 yr, BMI = 25.2 +/- 4.0 kg x m(-2)) wore an accelerometer for seven consecutive days. Accumulated physical activity (ct.d, ct x min(-1) x d(-1), and min x d(-1) spent at different intensities) and minutes per day spent in moderate or vigorous physical activity in sessions of at least 10 min were analyzed to describe the physical activity of the sample and examine physical activity patterns., Results: The entire sample accumulated 362,750.1 +/- 112,824.1 ct x d(-1) (males = 383,787.2 +/- 112,001.3 vs females = 344,804.1 +/- 110,619.5 ct x d(-1), P < 0.01) and 46.7 +/- 18.9 min x d(-1) in moderate physical activity (males = 51.7 +/- 19.8 vs females = 42.5 +/- 17.0 min x d(-1), P < 0.01). They were more active on weekdays than weekend days (P < 0.05), and they spent 13.6 +/- 12.7 min x d(-1) (males = 13.2 +/- 12.0 vs females = 13.8 +/- 13.3, P > 0.05) in moderate or vigorous physical activity sessions of at least 10 min., Conclusion: Participants in this study accumulated a moderate amount of physical activity on most weekdays. Most participants, however, were not meeting the current moderate physical activity recommendation when moderate or vigorous physical activity sessions of at least 10 min were examined.