title: Validity of SC-StepRx pedometer-derived moderate and vigorous physical activity during treadmill walking and running in a heterogeneous sample of children and youth.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of this study was to determine the validity of the SC-StepRx pedometer to assess moderate and vigorous physical activity during treadmill walking and running in a heterogeneous sample of children and youth aged 10-17 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Physical activity intensity assessed via indirect calorimetry served as the criterion standard. A convenience sample of 40 participants (20 boys, 20 girls) wore 6 SC-StepRx pedometers, 2 ActiGraph GT3X accelerometers, 2 Actical accelerometers, 1 Walk4Life MVP pedometer and 1 NL-1000 pedometer while walking/running at speeds approximating 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 METs. Associations between indirect calorimetry and each activity monitor were assessed using linear regression analyses in SAS 9.2.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Estimates of moderate and vigorous physical activity from all monitors were significantly associated with the criterion standard of indirect calorimetry. The strongest associations with the criterion measure were observed for the SC-StepRx with moderate/vigorous thresholds of 110/130 steps•minute(-1), and the NL-1000 (R2 = 0.82, p <0.05). The SC-StepRx with moderate/vigorous thresholds of 110/130 steps•minute(-1) also exhibited the highest combined sensitivity (92.9%) and specificity (96.5%) for correctly identifying a bout of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrates that the SC-StepRx pedometer is a valid tool for the measurement of moderate and vigorous physical activity in children and youth.
authors.affiliation: Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. saunders.travis@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Travis John
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Saunders
authors.forename: Casey Ellen
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.forename: Michael Marc
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Borghese
authors.forename: Allison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McFarlane
authors.forename: Afekwo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mbonu
authors.forename: Zachary Michael
authors.initials: ZM
authors.lastname: Ferraro
authors.forename: Mark Stephen
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Tremblay
mesh_terms: D056044:Actigraphy / Q000592:standards*; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D012044:Regression Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012420:Running; D016138:Walking