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Evaluation of low-cost, objective instruments for assessing physical activity in 10-11-year-old children
Teresa L Hart1, Timothy Brusseau, Pamela Hodges Kulinna
1Department of Human Movement Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53201-0413, USA. teresalhart@gmail.com
Insights
Low-cost physical activity monitors accurately measured steps and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in children. These devices show promise for use in children's physical activity interventions and program evaluations.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric physical activity assessment
- Objective measurement of physical activity
Background:
- Accurate measurement of physical activity in children is crucial for public health.
- Existing objective measures can be costly, limiting widespread use in interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare step counts from four low-cost physical activity instruments against a research-grade accelerometer.
- To evaluate the ability of these low-cost instruments to detect moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in children.
Main Methods:
- Thirty-six 10-11-year-old children participated.
- Four low-cost pedometers (NL-1000, Yamax Digiwalker SW 200, Omron HJ-151, Walk4Life MVP) and an ActiGraph accelerometer (AG) were worn concurrently.
- Data were collected during school hours over one day.
Main Results:
- Two of the low-cost instruments demonstrated comparable group mean MVPA and step counts to the ActiGraph accelerometer.
- The accuracy was dependent on the specific cut points used for the ActiGraph data.
Conclusions:
- Low-cost physical activity monitors show potential for reliable measurement of steps and MVPA in children.
- These instruments may be valuable tools for children's physical activity interventions and program evaluations.
Abstract:
This study compared step counts detected by four, low-cost, objective, physical-activity-assessment instruments and evaluated their ability to detect moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) compared to the ActiGraph accelerometer (AG). Thirty-six 10-11-year-old children wore the NL-1000, Yamax Digiwalker SW 200, Omron HJ-151, and Walk4Life MVP concurrently with the AG during school hours on a single day. AG MVPA was derived from activity count data using previously validated cut points. Two of the evaluated instruments provided similar group mean MVPA and step counts compared to AG (dependent on cut point). Low-cost instruments may be useful for measurement of both MVPA and steps in children's physical activity interventions and program evaluation.
