title: Short-term effects of using pedometers to increase daily physical activity in smokers: a randomized trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In adults it is recommended that the minimum of 10,000 steps/day should be performed in order to consider an individual as active. The pedometer, a small device that counts steps, has been used to monitor and/or motivate physical activity in various populations.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the short-term effects of a protocol using a pedometer or an informative booklet to increase daily physical activity in apparently healthy smokers who reached or did not reach the minimum public health recommendation of 10,000 steps/day.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects were randomly assigned  to 2 groups: group pedometer (GP, n = 23), who wore a pedometer every day during 1 month, aiming to achieve 10,000 steps/day; and group booklet (GB, n = 17), who received a booklet with encouragement to walk as much as possible in everyday life. Each group was subdivided according  to their baseline daily physical activity level: active (subjects who achieved 10,000 steps/day), and inactive (those who did not achieve this minimum).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Only the physically inactive GP increased significantly its daily physical activity (pre vs post 7,670 [6,159-9,402] steps/day  vs 10,310 [9,483-11,110] steps/day, P < .001), with a concomitant increase in the 6-min walking test (6MWT) distance (mean and interquartile range 540 m [501-586 m] vs 566 m [525-604 m], P = .03). In GP, Δ post-pre steps/day correlated significantly  with baseline number of steps/day (r = -0.63, P = .01), but not with 6MWT. In the inactive subjects (summing GP and GB), there were significant correlations between steps/day and cigarettes/day, pack-years, and Fagerström questionnaire (r = -0.55, -0.40, and -0.59,  P ≤ .05 for all). Furthermore, improvement in steps/day in the inactive subjects of GP was correlated with baseline cigarettes smoked per day, pack-years, and Fagerström questionnaire (r = 0.51, 0.65 and 0.53, P ≤ .05 for all).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Physically inactive smokers  improve their daily physical activity level by using a simple tool (pedometer), and larger improvement occurs in subjects with the lowest levels of physical activity.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisioterapia, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, Paraná, Brazil.
authors.forename: Demétria
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kovelis
authors.forename: Juliana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zabatiero
authors.forename: Karina Couto
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Furlanetto
authors.forename: Leandro Cruz
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Mantoani
authors.forename: Mahara
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Proença
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pitta
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory / Q000295:instrumentation*; D009043:Motor Activity; D010174:Pamphlets; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D012907:Smoking / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology