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Accuracy of multisensor activity monitors in normal versus high BMI African American children
Daniel Arvidsson1, Mark Fitch, Mark L Hudes
1Center for Primary Health Care Research, Institution for Clinical Sciences, Malmö, Sweden.
Insights
Activity monitors like IDEEA and SenseWear show similar accuracy for energy expenditure in normal and overweight children. Step count accuracy is generally good, especially at walking speeds above 2 km/h.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric obesity
- Biomedical engineering
- Human movement analysis
Background:
- Overweight children exhibit distinct walking patterns compared to normal-weight children.
- This suggests potential differences in the accuracy of activity monitors between these groups.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the accuracy of two multisensory activity monitors, IDEEA and SenseWear, in normal-weight and high BMI African American children.
- To compare monitor accuracy across different walking speeds.
Main Methods:
- Eleven normal-weight and 15 high BMI African American children participated.
- Participants walked on a treadmill at speeds of 2, 4, 5, and 6 km/h wearing IDEEA and SenseWear devices.
- Accuracy was validated against indirect calorimetry and manual step counts.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in energy expenditure (EE) accuracy between BMI groups for IDEEA; speed significantly impacted accuracy.
- SenseWear showed significant EE accuracy differences between high BMI girls and normal BMI girls at 2 km/h.
- Both monitors demonstrated larger step count underestimations at 2 km/h compared to higher speeds.
Conclusions:
- Activity monitors IDEEA and SenseWear demonstrate comparable accuracy for energy expenditure and step counts in normal and overweight children during walking.
- Monitor accuracy for step counts is reliable at speeds exceeding 2 km/h, with minor errors observed.
Background:
Overweight children show different movement patterns during walking than normal-weight children, suggesting the accuracy of multisensory activity monitors may differ in these groups.
Methods:
Eleven normal and 15 high BMI African American children walked at 2, 4, 5, and 6 km/h on a treadmill wearing the Intelligent Device for Energy Expenditure and Activity (IDEEA) and SenseWear (SW). Accuracy was determined using indirect calorimetry and manually counted steps as references.
Results:
For IDEEA, no significant differences in accuracy were observed between BMI groups for energy expenditure (EE), but differences were significant by speed (+15% at 2 km/h to -10% at 6 km/h). For SW, EE accuracy was significantly different for high (+21%) versus normal BMI girls (-13%) at 2 km/h. For high BMI girls, EE was overestimated at low speed and underestimated at higher speeds. Underestimations in steps did not differ by BMI group at 4 to 6 km/h, but were significantly larger at 2 km/h than at the other speeds for all groups with IDEEA, and for normal BMI children with SW.
Conclusions:
Similar accuracies during walking may be expected in normal and overweight children using IDEEA and SW. Both monitors showed small errors for steps provided speed exceeded 2 km/h.
