Use of the StepWatch activity monitor for characterization of normal activity levels of children.
Clinical and research measures for walking activity measure capacity and performance. Existing tools such as 3-dimensional gait analysis and validated gross motor instruments examine capacity but do not measure performance. We defined normal activity levels for 20 children ages 5-7 and 9-11 years using the StepWatch Activity Monitor (SAM). Average daily step counts varied widely by age and sex (mean 7604 +/- 2485), but the percent time spent at high, medium, and low levels of activity was very consistent regardless of age or sex of the child.
Song
Kit M
KM
Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, Seattle, WA 98105, USA. kit.song@seattlechildrens.org
Bjornson
Kristie F
KF
Cappello
Teresa
T
Coleman
Kim
K
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000295:instrumentation*; D009043:Motor Activity; D012016:Reference Values