Is wearing a pedometer associated with higher physical activity among adolescents?

To examine whether wearing a pedometer was associated with higher objectively-measured physical activity (PA) among adolescents independent of other behavior change strategies, and whether this association differed by sex or day of wear.

In a parallel-group population-based cohort study, 892 adolescents (43.4% male, mean±SD age, 14.5±0.5years) from Eastern England were recruited. PA was measured (in 2005-2006) by accelerometry over four days; a sub-group (n=345) wore a pedometer coterminously with the accelerometer. Three-level (individual, day of wear and school level) multiple linear regression was used to examine the association between accelerometry (counts/min, cpm) and pedometer wear, stratified by sex and adjusted for weekday/weekend.

For the entire cohort, there was a significant decline in cpm over four days (p<0.01). Girls wearing pedometers had higher mean cpm than those not wearing a pedometer, independent of BMI z-score, socio-economic status, weekday/weekend, and school clustering (β=5.1; 95% CI: 0.8 to 9.5, p=0.02). This association was not seen in boys.

Pedometer wear was associated with higher PA among adolescent girls, but not boys. Findings may support sex-specific intervention strategies. In addition to pedometer monitoring, additional strategies may be required to promote PA levels, especially among boys.