Physical_Activity_Guidelines

Figure A1-1. Using a Pedometer or Fitness Tracker to Track Walking
Walking is a popular and easy way to meet the key
guidelines, and pedometers or step counters are a
useful way to track progress. Popular advice, such
as walking 10,000 steps a day, is not a guideline
per se, but a way people may choose to meet the
key guidelines. The main idea in using a pedometer
to meet the key guidelines is to first set a time goal
(minutes of walking a day) and then calculate how
many steps are needed each day to reach that goal.
Moderate- or vigorous-intensity physical activity,
such as a brisk walk, counts toward meeting the key
guidelines. People generally need to plan episodes
of walking if they want to use step goals to progress
toward meeting key guidelines.
As a basis for setting step goals, it is preferable that
people know how many steps they take per minute
of a brisk walk. A person with a lower fitness level,
who takes fewer steps per minute than a fit adult,
will need fewer steps to achieve the same time of walking.
One way to set a step goal is the following:
1. To determine one’s usual daily steps, a person uses a pedometer or fitness tracker to count
the number of steps taken on several ordinary days with no episodes of walking for exercise.
Suppose the average is about 5,000 steps a day. (Most of those steps are light-intensity activity.)
2. With the pedometer or fitness tracker, the person measures the number of steps taken
during a 10-minute walk. Suppose this is 1,000 steps. For a goal of 20 minutes of walking,
the goal would total 2,000 steps (1,000 times 2).
3. To calculate a daily step goal, add the usual daily steps (5,000) to the steps required for a
20-minute walk (2,000), to get the total steps per day (5,000 + 2,000 = 7,000).
Then, each week, the person gradually increases the number of total steps a day until the step goal
is reached. Rate of progression should be individualized. Some people who start out at 5,000 steps
a day can add 500 steps per day each week. Others, who are less fit and starting out at a lower
number of steps, should add a smaller number of steps each week.
112 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans