Validation of Practical Tools to Identify Walking Cadence to Reach Moderate Intensity

It is recommended that adults get at minimum 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in bouts of 10 minutes or greater every week. Walking cadence (steps per minute) is one easy way to estimate intensity required, however tools that claim to quantify walking intensity via walking cadence have not been validated in adults. We aimed to validate: 1- the accuracy of walking cadence measurement by the Piezo RxD pedometer, Polar Stride Sensor Bluetooth Smart foot pod, and Garmin Ant+ foot pod at different speeds and slopes and 2- the ability of the Piezo RxD to identify bouts of walking at moderate intensity using walking cadence. Inclusion criteria included being aged 19+ and the ability to reach moderate intensity when walking without incline as determined by a treadmill cardiorespiratory fitness test to determine 40% of VO₂ reserve. Walking cadence measured from the three tools was compared to a manual count of walking cadence during a series of walking stages at several speeds (2.5-5.5 km/h) and inclines (0-15%). The ability of the Piezo RxD to quantify a 10-minute bout was determined by walking for 12 minutes at 40% of VO₂ reserve measured by indirect calorimetry. All correlations between manual walking cadence counts and all devices were significant regardless of speed (r ranging from 0.469 to 0.999; p ≤ 0.05) and slope (r ranging from 0.887 to 0.996; p ≤ 0.05). The Piezo RxD was able to correctly measure a 10-minute bout of walking at moderate intensity for 50 of 51 participants. We found that all walking cadence devices provided accurate measurements of walking cadence. The Piezo RxD is an effective tool to quantify bouts of walking done at a minimum of moderate intensity.