title: Reliability of pedometer-determined free-living physical activity data in college women.
abstract: This study examined stability and reliability of free-living physical activity assessed by pedometer in 69 young female college students (M age = 18.7 years, SD = 1.2, range: 18-25 years; body mass index = 23.2 kg/m2, SD = 0.6) for two complete weeks (Week 1 and Week 2) separated by 12 weeks. During Week 1, participants took an average of 8880 steps/day, SD = 3219, range: 1858-19480; during Week 2 9088 steps/day, SD = 3299, range 1736-16837; t (68) = -.568, p = .572. In both weeks, only Sunday differed significantly (repeated measures analysis of variance; Week 1: p < .0001; Week 2: p < .01) from all other days of the week. The computed intraclass correlation between weeks was moderate (.72). Group mean pedometer-determined physical activity was stable across 2 weeks separated by 12 weeks in this young, healthy sample of women. Individuals within these groups held their rank order to a moderate extent over time. These findings provide important evidence of the reliability of pedometer-determined physical activity data and are of practical importance to study design.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, University of South Carolina, Columbia 29208, USA. gwen.felton@sc.edu
authors.forename: Gwen M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Felton
authors.forename: Catrine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tudor-Locke
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Burkett
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009043:Motor Activity; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D016138:Walking / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*