Are pedometers less accurate when used by obese persons?
It appears that pedometers work as well on obese subjects as they do on normal weight subjects (Swartz AM, et al. 2003)…as long as the pedometer remains in a vertical position. If the person’s abdomen is large and causes the pedometer to tilt forward when wearing it on the front of the waistline, then it should be moved to the side (hip). Q: Does the road surface affect the accuracy of pedometers? ANSWER: No differences were seen when walking on a sidewalk was compared to walking on a rubberized outdoor track (Bassett DR, et al. 1996). However, users should also note that pedometers can’t make any distinction between level walking and walking on an incline. In other words, while step-counting might be accurately recorded while walking inclines or hills, calories burned may be way off. Q: Do pedometers lose accuracy if you use them a lot? ANSWER: In one study, the pre-use error rate of one model was 1%. After 7 weeks of heavy use in a research setting, the error rate was 3% (Sidman CL
