title: Patterns of adult stepping cadence in the 2005-2006 NHANES.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Laboratory studies of adult walking behavior have consistently found that a cadence of 100 steps/min is a reasonable threshold for moderate intensity. The purpose of this study was to determine cadence patterns in free-living adults, and in particular, time spent at increasing cadence increments including 100 steps/min and beyond.
  
  
  METHODS
  3744 adults ≥20 years provided at least one valid day (minimally 10/24 h of wear) of minute-by-minute accelerometer-determined step data during the 2005-2006 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Means for time spent (min/day) and steps/day were calculated for 8 cadence categories including zero and each incremental cadence band thereafter beginning with 1-19 through 100-119, and beyond to 120+steps/min.
  
  
  RESULTS
  U.S. adults accumulate ≅4.8 h/day of zero cadence during wearing time, ≅8.7 h between 1 and 59 steps/min, ≅16 min/day at cadences of 60-79 steps/min, ≅8 min at 80-99 steps/min, ≅5 min at 100-119 steps/min, and ≅2 min at 120+steps/min.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Self-selected walking at 100+steps/min was a rare phenomenon in this large free-living sample of the U.S. population, but study participants did accumulate ≅30 min/day at cadences of 60+steps/min.
authors.affiliation: Pennington Biomedical Research Center, 6400 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, USA. Tudor-Locke@pbrc.edu
authors.forename: Catrine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tudor-Locke
authors.forename: Sarah M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Camhi
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Leonardi
authors.forename: William D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Peter T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Katzmarzyk
authors.forename: Conrad P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Earnest
authors.forename: Timothy S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Church
mesh_terms: D056044:Actigraphy / Q000295:instrumentation; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult