Guide to Buying Pedometers and Fitness Apps

Many of us know that Centers for Disease Control suggest that everyone should accumulate 30–60 minutes or more of moderate physical activity, such as brisk walking, on a daily basis.  But how do we know if we are walking enough? Of course, one way is to plan structured 30–60 minute walks; the focus being on getting these walks on most, if not all, days of the week. We also know, however, that there are health benefits to short bouts of activity accumulated throughout the day. One of the best ways to keep up with short bouts of physical activity is to use a pedometer. Ultimately your long term goal should be 10,000 steps (approximately 5 miles) per day.

Pedometers and Fitness Apps have the potential to increase awareness and amount of physical activity. They can act as a tracking device that continuously collects current activity and give feedback about how many steps have been taken that day. This feedback can increase confidence and may increase motivation to achieve a certain number of steps per day, set goals and remind us to be active.Pedometers can be found in many sporting goods stores and online, whereas Fitness Apps are obtained through mobile devices.

The most important consideration when buying a pedometer is accuracy. You want a pedometer that counts your steps as accurately as possible. The simplest pedometer that accurately counts steps is the only truly essential feature in a pedometer. Second to accuracy, you will want to consider comfort.

Choosing other features is dependent on your personal preferences. You might want to choose other features if they help to motivate you or keep your interest in continued physical activities. Just remember that features such as calories burned and distances covered are estimates (based on individual factors input into the device), and therefore have a larger margin of error than steps counted.

To give you a starting place as a consumer, the Consumer Reports quick picks list for a good combination of accuracy, ease of use, and value were the: Omron HJ-112;  pocket pedometer;  Sportsline 330,  343, and 345.

According to recommendations compiled by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Specialists, among the top health and fitness apps were: MyFitness Pal- calorie counter and diet tracker; the iTreadmill: Pedometer Ultra w/Pocket Step; and Lose It! By FitNow. Also, FitBits seem to be growing in popularity. This free app is more of a financial commitment because you first need to purchase a FitBit monitor. The device allows you to track your progress via the FitBit on your phone.

One last note: the information included in this article is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of your doctor or other health care provider.

We continue to register teams for Walk Across Texas, the eight week walking program that kicked off Monday, March 3,   Call the Extension office at 940/627-3341 for more information.