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| In this issue: How Long Will Your Pedometers Last? Need Pedometers? It's Best to Mix it Up! Special Grant Packages Special OFFer! |
How Long Will Your Pedometers Last ? reliability of pedometer brands—now, it also shows which brands will stand the test of time. |
 Photo Courtesy of Montana State University Movement Science/Human Performance Lab |
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Longevity is defined by the research team as “the ability of a pedometer to maintain step counting accuracy with repeated use.” Whether you are conducting research, running a physical activity intervention with a group of participants, or purchasing a pedometer for personal use, pedometer longevity is an important factor to consider. You wouldn’t purchase a car knowing that it will only take you 500 miles, so why settle for the same low performance in a pedometer! How did they do it? In their rigorous, systematic study, Manning, Lore, McKenzie et al. used motorized shaker tables (which simulate a person’s walking gait at 3 MPH) to test 10 pedometers each of 16 different brands for a period of 5-7 hours so that steps accumulated on the pedometers would total from between 75,000 and 100,000 steps. After this time interval, the pedometers were taken off one-by-one and evaluated. Once removed from the shaker tables, each pedometer was systematically tested for accuracy, hand-tallying actual steps taken on a treadmill at 3 miles per hour (MPH) and comparing these steps to those recorded by the pedometer. Pedometers off by 5 or more steps failed the step accuracy test, while those that passed the treadmill test went back on the shaker tables for additional hours of simulated “stepping.” What were the results? According to the researchers, “Despite the fact that pedometer brands tested accurately at the beginning of the study, the ability to remain accurate with repeated use (i.e. simulated walking on shaker table) varied incredibly.” Are your pedometers among the top performers? If you are a proud owner of a NEW-LIFESTYLES SW-Series DIGI-WALKER pedometer or a NEW-LIFESTYLES NL-Series accelerometer, then you have a winner! If you didn’t purchase one of the top-performing brands, it just may be time to replace your pedometers with a long-term investment. Among those rated with the best longevity in this study were the NEW-LIFESTYLES NL-2000 and NEW-LIFESTYLES NL-2200 accelerometers, and NEW-LIFESTYLES SW-200 DIGI-WALKER pedometer.
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| In today’s average class of thirty students, we know that the range of body types (or BMIs) will follow the national average with 30% of the children likely to be overweight or obese. To embrace this challenge in a positive way, physical educators will want to find pedometers that work well on all of their students regardless of body size, being cautious to not single out any one student. Research tells us that, even though they are considered to be the pedometer gold standard, DIGI-WALKERS are not going to be as accurate on individuals with bigger tummies. |  |
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| Thankfully, we do have devices called accelerometers (like the NEW-LIFESTYLES NL-series which only cost around $40) that researchers find work on both overweight and normal weight body types. It’s important to know that pedometers which use an accelerometer device, like the simple-to-use NEW-LIFESTYLES NL-series pedometers, are the best bet for larger bodies. So, what does that mean for a larger school population? It means that an ideal class set of pedometers would include BOTH types of pedometers (DIGI-WALKERS and NL-series) so that they render accurate results on every body. The DIGI-WALKERS will still work great for the younger kids and for those at a normal BMI. The NL-series will be a better choice for those with higher BMIs and for middle school and high school students who will appreciate the sophistication of a device that will measure in addition to their steps, the intensity of their activity. NEW-LIFESTYLES wants to work with you to customize mixed pedometer kits to meet the needs and demographics of your classes. And, the best way to do that is to call us at 1-888-748-5377 or email us at info@new-lifestyles.com. Let’s all do our best to make every step count for every student! |
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hard to come by, it is more important than ever to base a program on effective, evidence-based methods.
That said, it should be obvious that pedometers should be a BIG part of your physical education/physical activity program. They are supported by research, and the accuracy of certain pedometers has been published.* And best yet, they provide outcomes! Specifically, they will report the outcomes required by this year’s PEP competition—225 minutes of MVPA (moderate-to-vigorous physical activity)/week for elementary school students and 150 minutes of MVPA/week for middle and high school students. That’s why the NL-series pedometers are often called activity monitors—because that’s what they do, monitor physical activity all day and all week long. Think of what you can do with 7-day memory or with 200-day memory and downloadable capabilities.
We invite you to check out the Funding and Grants section of New-Lifestyles.com. In it, you’ll find grant packages formulated specifically with the physical educator in mind. These days “one size fits all” just doesn't work. That's why NEW-LIFESTYLES offers completely customizable grant program packages. With knowing what it takes to meet State and NASPE standards, we can help you create a health, wellness, and physical education program with all the right elements. |
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Take Advantage of This Healthy Back To School Special OFFer! |
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| Want to Share This E-Newsletter and its Healthy Messages With School Administrators, Other Staff, Parents and Guardians? This e-newsletter would be a great thing for you to share with administrators, other staff members, parents and guardians in order to convey healthy messages for physical activity beyond the classroom. We gladly grant you permission to either forward this e-newsletter to others via email. Or, if they want to be included on our e-mailing list to ensure that they will receive future Steps To A Healthier You™ e-newsletters, simply ask them to send an email to: PEnews@new-lifestyles.com with the word "Subscribe" as the subject. If you missed a past issue, archived issues of the Steps To A Healthier You™ e-newsletter can be found at www.new-lifestyles.com/publications_archive.html. |
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