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Pedometer-determined step-count guidelines for afterschool programs
Michael W Beets1, Aaron Beighle, Matteo Bottai
1Dept of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
Insights
Afterschool programs can now use a 4600-step threshold to easily track if children meet the 30-minute moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) goal. This pedometer-based guideline offers an objective measure for program providers.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Pediatric Exercise Science
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Policies mandate 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in afterschool programs (ASPs).
- Lack of accessible tools hinders ASPs' ability to monitor children's MVPA.
- Pedometers offer a potential low-cost solution, but step-count guidelines for MVPA are needed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish a step-count threshold corresponding to 30 minutes of MVPA in children attending ASPs.
- To validate pedometer data as a feasible measure for MVPA in community-based ASP settings.
Main Methods:
- Collected concurrent step counts and accelerometer-based MVPA data from 245 children in community ASPs.
- Utilized statistical modeling (random intercept logit, ROC analysis) to determine the step threshold for MVPA.
- Analyzed data over multiple days to ensure reliability of the findings.
Main Results:
- Children averaged 2876 steps and 16.1 minutes of MVPA during ASPs.
- A threshold of 4600 steps demonstrated high specificity (0.967) and adequate sensitivity (0.646) for identifying children meeting the 30-minute MVPA goal.
- Children reaching 4600 steps were 25 times more likely to achieve 30 minutes of MVPA, with 93% overall correct classification.
Conclusions:
- A 4600-step threshold provides an objective, user-friendly metric for ASPs to monitor MVPA.
- This guideline supports policy adherence and promotes physical activity in afterschool settings.
- Empowers ASP providers with a practical tool to track and improve children's physical activity levels.
Background:
Policies to require afterschool programs (ASPs, 3 PM to 6 PM) to provide children a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) exist. With few low-cost, easy-to-use measures of MVPA available to the general public, ASP providers are limited in their ability to track progress toward achieving this policy-goal. Pedometers may fill this gap, yet there are no step-count guidelines for ASPs linked to 30 minutes of MVPA.
Methods:
Steps and accelerometer estimates of MVPA were collected concurrently over multiple days on 245 children (8.2 years, 48% boys, BMI-percentile 68.2) attending 3 community-based ASPs. Random intercept logit models and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were used to identify a threshold of steps that corresponded with attaining 30 minutes of MVPA.
Results:
Children accumulated an average of 2876 steps (standard error [SE] 79) and 16.1 minutes (SE0.5) of MVPA over 111 minutes (SE1.3) during the ASP. A threshold of 4600 steps provided high specificity (0.967) and adequate sensitivity (0.646) for discriminating children who achieved the 30 minutes of MVPA; 93% of the children were correctly classified. The total area under the curve was 0.919. Children accumulating 4600 steps were 25times more likely to accumulate 30 minutes of MVPA.
Conclusions:
This step threshold will provide ASP leaders with an objective, low-cost, easy-to-use tool to monitor progress toward policy-related goals.
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