15 Aug Pedometers a great way to increase motivation to exercise

Some of the most important miles a person will travel in their life are the ones they travel on foot, whether it’s walking or running.
That’s because we need to keep moving to stay in good health.
Wearing a pedometer is a great way to not only monitor how far you walk or run, but a new study reveals also helps provide added motivation to get moving.
A recent study conducted by researchers from Indiana University showed wearing a pedometer was especially beneficial to workers who have desk jobs. The study also that a pedometer can help countless people because of its low cost — often only about $15-30.
“Even if somebody works out 30 minutes a day, the fact that they’re sitting and not moving for long periods of time for the rest of the day is, in and of itself, detrimental to their health and well-being, physiologically,” said one of the study’s researchers, Saurabh Thosar, an associate instructor at the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, in a university news release.
Twenty-two women and four men between ages 40-66 participated in the 12-week study. They monitored their daily activity by wearing a $30 pedometer every day, which tracked their lower leg movements.
The style of pedometers that were used could be connected to a computer so that information on the amount of leg movements over time could be downloaded and viewed as a graph.
The participants were asked to download their data one time each week. If their leg movements were low during certain periods, they were reminded to be more active. They were also emailed tips on nutrition and exercise twice a week.
Researchers noted the participants were much more physically active during the study, resulting in a mean weight drop among the men and women of nearly 2.5 pounds.
“This is a very simple intervention that can reach a large number of people at a low cost,” study co-author, Jeanne Johnston, clinical associate professor in the School of Public Health’s department of kinesiology, said in the news release. “As companies and communities develop programs to increase physical activity and positively impact health parameters such as weight, there is a need to think of the associated costs.”
The pedometer findings were discussed at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in Indianapolis.
At Home Fitness sells the highly regarded Ekho Three Pedometer for $18.95, which tracks steps and multiplies them by your stride length to calculate the number of miles you traveled.

At Home Fitness sells the highly regarded Ekho Three Pedometer for $18.95, which tracks steps and multiplies them by your stride length to calculate the number of miles you traveled.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com