Step Counts of 10- to 11-Year-Old Children by Ethnicity and Metropolitan Status

Abstract

Background:The purpose of this study was to conduct a secondary analysis by combining 2 pedometer data sets to describe and analyze pedometer-determined steps/day of children by ethnicity and metropolitan status. Methods: Participants were 582 children (309 girls, 273 boys; 53% Hispanic, 26% Caucasian, 21% African American) age 10 to 11 years (M = 10.37 ± 0.48) attending 1 of 10 schools located in urban, suburban, and rural settings. Participants wore a research grade pedometer for at least 3 week/school days. Mean steps/ day were analyzed by gender, ethnicity, and metropolitan status. Results: Statistical analyses indicated 1) boys (12,853 ± 3831; P < .001) obtained significantly more steps/day than girls (10,409 ± 3136); 2) African American (10,709 ± 3386; P < .05) children accumulated significantly less steps/day than Hispanic (11,845 ± 3901) and Caucasian (11,668 ± 3369) children; and 3) urban (10,856 ± 3706; P < .05) children obtained significantly less steps/day than suburban (12,297 ± 3616) and rural (11,934 ± 3374) children. Conclusions: Findings support self-report data demonstrating reduced physical activity among African American children and youth, especially girls, and among children and youth living in urban areas. Possible reasons for these discrepancies are explored.

The Use of Pedometers for Monitoring Physical Activity in Children and Adolescents: Measurement Considerations

“…Other categorisation variables commonly applied where appropriate include age group or school year/grade and BMI since it has been reported that step counts decline with increasing age 39,46,52,75 and BMI. 50,63 Ethnic differences in step counts have also been reported, 47 therefore where relevant it may also be important to report step count data according to ethnicity.…”

“…A number of researchers have excluded data from a particular day, or all of the data from a participant, if participants have reported removing the pedometer for over an hour. 11,[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50] To enhance comparability between studies it is recommended that future studies apply the same protocol of excluding data from a particular day if participants report removing the pedometer for over one hour on that day.…”

Activity Levels for Four Years in a Cohort of Urban-Dwelling Adolescent Females

“…(37, 41) Compared to the general youth population, lower percentages of disadvantaged and urban youth appear to be meeting the recommendations. (8, 15, 16, 19) The known health benefits of physical activity support prioritizing the identification and characterization of these and other subgroups at high risk for inactivity. In addition, the recent Surgeon General’s Call to Action, titled, “Step it up!”(38), highlighted the need to identify factors related to PA levels in these subgroups that may better inform targeted PA intervention efforts for those most in need of improvement.…”

“…(36) Aspects of the built environment that vary across metropolitan settings have also emerged as factors that may lead to differences in PA levels across subgroups. (8, 16). In relation to this, one study reported that urban youth had significantly lower average (stdev) step counts/day compared to suburban and rural youth (10,856 ± 3,706 versus 12,297 ± 3,616 and 11,934 ± 3,374, P<0.05); with the lowest mean step counts/day in urban females.…”

“…In relation to this, one study reported that urban youth had significantly lower average (stdev) step counts/day compared to suburban and rural youth (10,856 ± 3,706 versus 12,297 ± 3,616 and 11,934 ± 3,374, P<0.05); with the lowest mean step counts/day in urban females. (16) Furthermore, studies of environmental factors suggest that differences in opportunities to engage in PA in/outside of school and neighborhood safety (perceived and objectively recorded) may contribute to activity level variations across metropolitan settings. (10, 12, 33) Other factors highly correlated with metropolitan setting that may be related to activity levels include race/ethnicity and poverty.…”