Validity of the New Lifestyles NL-1000 Accelerometer for Measuring Time Spent in Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity in School Settings

Abstract

Current interest in promoting physical activity in the school environment necessitates an inexpensive, accurate method of measuring physical activity in such settings. Additionally, it is recognized that physical activity must be of at least moderate intensity in order to yield substantial health benefits. The purpose of the study, therefore, was to determine the validity of the New Lifestyles NL-1000 (New Lifestyles, Inc., Lee's Summit, Missouri, USA) accelerometer for measuring moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in school settings, using the Actigraph GT1M (ActiGraph, Pensacola, Florida, USA) as the criterion. Data were collected during a cross-country run (n = 12), physical education (n = 18), and classroom-based physical activities (n = 42). Significant and meaningful intraclass correlations between methods were found, and NL-1000 estimates of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were not meaningfully different from GT1M-estimated moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. The NL-1000 therefore shows promising validity evidence as an inexpensive, convenient method of measuring moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in school settings.

Convergent Validity of a Piezoelectric Pedometer and an Omnidirectional Accelerometer for Measuring Children’s Physical Activity

“…This study represents the second investigation of the accuracy of the NL-1000 pedometer for measuring minutes of MVPA in children. The first such study compared the performance of the NL-1000 with a uniaxial accelerometer (Actigraph GT1M) for detecting older children's MVPA during a cross-country run, physical education, and classroom-based physical activities (12). The authors concluded that the MVPA data recorded by the NL-1000 at intensity level 3 (£ 2.6 MET)…”

“…To our knowledge, only one study has investigated the performance of the NL-1000 for assessing MVPA in children. McMinn et al (12) compared time spent in MVPA between the NL-1000 and a uniaxial accelerometer (Actigraph GT1M, Actigraph LLC, Pensacola, FL). Children aged 10-13 years wore the equipment under three different conditions (1): a cross-country run (N = 12) (2), physical education (N = 18), and (3) classroom activity breaks (N = 42).…”

Impact of a school-based intervention on nutritional education and physical activity in primary public schools in Chile (KIND) programme study protocol: cluster randomised controlled trial

“…Measuring the intensity of the physical activity by using a pedometer [30], which is a portable device used to count steps that will be placed on the waist of children and secured with a belt while they participate in the physical education classes.…”

Physical activity, pain responses to heat stimuli, and conditioned pain modulation in postmenopausal women

“…The intensity used in this study was above 3.6 metabolic equivalents. Estimates of moderate to vigorous PA from the NL-1000 were found to be not meaningfully different from, and moderately to highly correlated with, other accelerometer-based measures of moderate to vigorous PA. 51,52 Participants were asked to wear the NL-1000 on the anterior area of their nondominant hip during all waking hours for seven continuous days and to return to the laboratory after 1 week. The times of day that participants put the monitor on and took the monitor off were recorded in a log.…”