Those who like to quantify the amount of physical activity they do every day are likely to exercise more. And that’s why the pedometer is important, says a new study.
The study, by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine, found that those using a pedometer — a device that counts the number of steps walked per day — showed an increase in physical activity, resulting in weight loss and general well-being.
The findings of the study appear in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
"These little devices were shown to increase physical activity by just over 2,000 steps, or about one mile of walking per day," said the study’s lead author, Dena Bravata.
Health experts recommend that adults should walk up to 10,000 steps each day. And in recent years, pedometers have emerged as a cheap and popular tool to count steps walked per day.
Bravata embarked on the study as she wanted to find out whether she should recommend pedometers to patients.
She reviewed more than 2,000 articles and found 26 studies that looked at the use of pedometers as a tool to motivate physical activity. A total of 2,767 people participated in these studies.
Bravata found that pedometer users in observational studies increased their physical activity by 2,183 steps per day over baseline.
"Just over 2,100 steps might not sound that much, but it equates to a 27 percent increase in physical activity — which is really astounding," said Bravata.
Bravata also found that pedometer users lost weight — with their body mass index decreasing by 0.4 — and lowered their blood pressure.
"People don’t always achieve it, but just having a goal seems to help themselves motivated and improve their physical activity," she noted.