Pedometers may be inaccurate

As reported in the Wall Street Journal, the University of Tennessee conducted a study comparing 13 pedometers. It showed big disparities between the steps pedometers counted and the steps the wearers actually took. At approximately the same time as the WSJ report, Consumer Reports reached a similar conclusion, showing that only three out of 12 pedometers it tested were accurate within 5 percent when used at 2.5 miles per hour.

In addition, a report by researchers at Ghent University in northern Belgium, says cheap pedometers are inaccurate. They have based their findings on research into almost 1000 inexpensive pedometers which were tested by 35 volunteers with an age of between 20 and 60 years.

Each volunteer was given 30 cheap pedometers as well as a sophisticated automated step count log against which to compare the performance of the gadgets.

Over a period of six days each one wore five cheap pedometers and counted the steps recorded daily with each of the pedometers. They then compared the figures against those of the automated log.

The researchers were prepared to accept a variation in performance of 10%, but it was found that only one in four of the pedometers fell within that range. Three out of four of the pedometers either exceeded or fell below 10%, and more than one in three had a variation that was greater than 50%. In almost two thirds of these, the pedometers overestimated the actual steps taken.

The authors say this is important because an error of 20% in 10,000 daily steps adds up to 2,000 steps, so either 8,000 or 12,000 steps will be recorded.