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Table 5 Studies that have attempted to set steps/day cut points in adults relative to time spent in MVPA or energy expended

From: How many steps/day are enough? for adults

First Author

Sample Characteristics

Instrument

Monitoring Frame

Analytical Strategy

Findings

Tudor-Locke [48]

2002

USA

27 men, 25 women

university community

38.2 ± 12.0 years

Yamax SW-200, Yamax Corporation, Tokyo, Japan;

CSA 7164 Version 2.2, Computer Science Applications, Inc., Shalimar, FL

7 days

Mean steps/day associated with the step/day quartile distribution in which participants accumulated an average of 30 min/day accelerometer-determined MVPA

8,000 steps/day corresponded with accumulating 30 minutes of MVPA

people taking > 12,500 took more moderate and vigorous activity than any other group

Miller [50]

2004

Australia

74 men, 111 women

workplace employees

18 to 75 years

Yamax SW 700;

Active Australia questionnaire

7 days

Steps/day equivalent to 150+ minutes/week self-reported MVPA

Those who met guidelines averaged 9,547 ± 2,655 steps/day

Behrens [51]

2005

USA

18 men, 18 women

college students

23.3 ± 3.1 years

Digi-walker (Model DW-200, Yamax, Tokyo, Japan)

Actigraph 7164, Manufacturing Technology Incorporated, Fort Walton Beach, FL

7 days

Steps/day related to 30+ minutes of accelerometer-determined moderate physical activity

11,822 steps/day

Jordan [52]

2005

USA

111 postmenopausal women

intervention participants

45-75 years

Accusplit Eagle 120 (AE 120)

7 days

Steps/day associated with attaining prescribed and verified exercise equivalent to 120-150 min/week or 8kcal/kg/week EE

3-4 days of 10,000 steps/day met energy expenditure guidelines for the week

or approximately 7300 steps/day (imputed from reported data)

Macfarlane [53]

2008

China

30 men, 19 women

apparently healthy

15 to 55 years

SW-700, Yamax Corporation., Tokyo, Japan

MTI 7164, MTI Actigraph, Fort Walton Beach, FL

Tritrac RT3, Stayhealthy INC., Monrovia, CA Heart rate monitor, Team system, Polar OY, Finland

7 days

Selected 25th percentile of steps/day distribution; examined sensitivity/specificity of achieving 30 minutes MVPA measured by various instruments

8,000 steps/day

Tudor-Locke [83]

2011

USA

1781 men, 1963 women;

NHANES participants (nationally representative);

20 to 85+ years

ActiGraph AM-7164; censored data to approximate pedometer outputs

7 days

Step-defined activity category where at least 30 minutes of MVPA was accumulated

Men who took 7,500-9,999 steps/day accumulated 38 minutes MVPA; women who achieved 10,000-12,499 steps/day accumulated 36 minutes of MVPA (women who achieved 7,500-9,999 steps/day accumulated 25 minutes of MVPA