The accuracy of pedometer steps and time during walking in children.

PURPOSE: To determine the accuracy of pedometer step counts and time during self-paced walking (SPW) and treadmill walking in children (5-11 yr). Two pedometers were assessed during SPW: Digiwalker SW-200 (DW200) and Walk4Life 2505 (WL), and four pedometers during treadmill walking: DW200, WL, Digiwalker SW-701 (DW701), and the Sun TrekLINQ (SUN).

METHODS: Ten boys (8.3+/-1.5 yr) and 10 girls (8.9+/-1.7 yr) completed three single-lap SPW trials around an outdoor athletic track. Treadmill walking was performed at the following speeds: 40, 54, 67, 80, and 94 m.min-1. During treadmill walking, each model was measured on the right and left sides. Pedometer steps and time and observed steps and time were recorded for all trials.

RESULTS: Across SPW trials, there was high agreement on observed steps for both the DW200 and WL (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) 0.985-0.997). For treadmill walking, at
CONCLUSIONS: Findings are consistent with adult studies with step count underestimation during slow (