Assessment of physical activity in college students by pedometer and questionnaire

The purpose of this study was to determine the average number of steps accumulated per day in students attending a private, 4-year college. Specifically, the study sought to determine (a) percentage of those students who met the 10,000 steps per day recommendation, (b) whether a difference exists between men and women, and ( c) the effects of on- or off-campus residence. Additionally, measurements of physical activity from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey or System (BRFSS) and the pedometer were compared. A total of 79 men (n=40) and women (n=39) ages 18-32 years old participated in this study. Participan�s completed a physical activity questionnaire (BRFSS), and wore a pedometer (Yamax SW200 electronic pedometer) seven consecutive days except while showering or sleeping. Participants also completed a pedometer log concurrently in which they recorded steps per day and the types of activities they engaged in and the duration of those activities. The average number of steps for men was 9,914 and for women was 7,840 (p=0.013). There was no difference in average number of steps between those who lived on-campus and those who lived offcampus. The BRFSS classified 58% of the students as having met the current physical activity recommendation (150-minutes per week), 29% as insufficiently active, and 13% as inactive. However, only 28% of the students met the Japanese recommendation of accumulating 10,000 steps per day. In conclusion, a greater proportion of college students were classified as physically active on the BRFSS questionnaire, as compared to the pedometer. This indicates that 10,000 steps per day recommendation was more difficult to meet. In part, this is due to the fact that pedometers fail to capture some common activities in college students (e.g. - swimming, bicycling, and weightlifting).