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The purpose of this paper is to explore how pedometers (simple gadgets that count steps) can be used as tools in participatory health education to enhance primary school children's insights into, and abilities to reflect on, physical activity in their daily life. The paper focuses on how using pedometers fosters participation and enhances reflection concerning physical activity.

The paper draws on findings from an exploratory project with sixth-grade classes (12-13 years) in four Danish primary schools. The approach is called Imove. In Imove, pupils use pedometers to study their own patterns of physical activity, transform their data into statistics, and use the statistical representation to reflect on how physical activity is integrated into everyday life patterns, and how different activities constitute an active life.

The paper concludes that pedometers support pupils’ participation in studying their own health practices, and the step data provide new insights into, and encourage pupils to reflect on, the way physical activity is formed into everyday patterns.

The study is an exploratory one with four participating school classes. The findings need to be further explored by employing similar methodology in studies with more participants. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that pedometers support pupils’ genuine participation in health educational processes.

The findings identify simple measuring technologies, such as pedometers, as potent assets in health education learning processes and call for creative thinking in developing health promotion programmes for young people.

Measuring technologies play an increasingly critical role in health research, as well as in individual health regulating practices. This paper contributes with a new perspective by demonstrating the educational possibilities of applying pedometers in participatory school health education.

Exercise training has been shown to be an effective and integral component of non-pharmacological intervention for the control of blood pressure. The purpose of this paper is to compare the effectiveness of a supervised modified exercise program of moderate-intensity exercise for one hour per week including the use of a pedometer, and with the use of a pedometer alone without additional exercise in reducing blood pressure.

The study was a randomized control trial, with an experimental group of 30 people and a control group of 26 people. Participants were males and females aged 30-65 years with pre- to mild hypertension, and who were not receiving any drugs for the treatment of hypertension. Participants of the experimental group were assigned to a fitness program with supervised exercise once a week at the Golden Jubilee Medical Fitness Center, given access to a pedometer, and provided with health education. Participants in the control group were assigned to use a pedometer only. All experimental and control group members participated in the study for three months, as well as a follow-up at the third and sixth month.

Comparison of the experimental and control groups at the first, third, and sixth month, using repeated measures analysis found that interaction effect groups and times were significantly different for mean systolic blood pressure (SBP), body mass index (BMI), hip circumference (HC), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (p<0.05). Mean SBP, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), BMI, waist circumference (WC), HC, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) within groups were significantly different (p<0.05). Mean WC, cholesterol, LDL, and triglyceride between groups were significantly different (p<0.05). Both groups had SBP improved at the third and sixth month when compared with baseline data. Mean HDL increased in the experimental group and decreased in the control group. Multiple regression analysis showed that both groups were not statistically different after intervention, SBP was reduced in the experimental group when compared to the control group. However, at six months, members in the experimental group reported spending less time sitting or reclining on a typical day than members of the control group.

A supervised one-time per week fitness program combined with pedometer and pedometer alone were not different in reducing blood pressure, as both groups showed decreases in blood pressure. However, the group with the supervised exercise program tended to change sedentary behaviors in the longer term compared to those who used the pedometer alone.

Recent public health initiatives have promoted accumulating 10,000 steps per day. Little previous research has evaluated the using pedometer in sustaining the physical activity level during worksite intervention. Hence, this study aims to the step changes of pedometer in a multicomponent worksite intervention.

This trial enrolled 43 participants recruited from brochures at outpatient clinic. Throughout the 12-week multidisciplinary lifestyle program, participant required to wear a pedometer and reported daily step count at baseline, 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th and 12th week. The primary outcome measure was the step goal over the 12th week of intervention.

All subjects regardless men and women prior enter into the intervention recorded less than 5,000 of average steps count per day which is sedentary. At the 12th week of intervention, there were only 9.3 per cent subjects are sedentary. Majority of subjects (55.8 per cent) had achieved at least somewhat active, followed by low active (23.3 per cent). There were only 11.6 per cent subjects are classified as highly active at the end of the intervention. The result indicated the changes of average steps per day from baseline to 2nd (p < 0.01), 4th (p < 0.01), 6th (p < 0.01), 8th (p < 0.01), 10th (p < 0.01) and 12th (p < 0.01) week were significant. Likewise, the changes of average steps per day from previous time were significant at 4th (p < 0.01) week and 10th (p < 0.001) week.

This study did not associate the improvement health parameter and step counter as the core stone of this study intervention were extensive individual dietary regime and reinforcement of ZUMBA participation among participants through motivational interviewing counseling. Third, there was no control group in this study, where no pedometer and goal setting were provided to the control group in the previous reported effectiveness study (Jian Pei et al., 2017).

The step goal during a multicomponent worksite intervention in primary health-care setting has not been clearly defined. Besides, there are no clear data of generally daily step among primary health-care employees.

The mid-1990s marked a paradigm shift in the way physical activity is promoted, and walking is now considered the most suitable type of physical activity for widespread promotion. Accurate measurement underpins public health practice, hence the aims of this chapter are to: (1) provide a typology for the measurement of walking; (2) review methods to assess walking; (3) present challenges in defining walking measures; (4) identify issues in selecting instruments for the evaluation of walking and (5) discuss current efforts to overcome measurement challenges and methodological limitations. The taxonomy of walking indicates that secondary purpose walking is a more complex set of behaviours than primary purpose walks. It has many purposes and no specific domain or intensity, may lack regularity, and therefore poses greater measurement challenges. Objective measurement methods, such as accelerometers, pedometers, smartphones and other electronic devices, have shown good approximation for walking energy expenditure, but are indirect methods of walking assessment. Global Positioning System technology, the ‘Smartmat’ and radio-frequency identification tags are potential objective methods that can distinguish walkers, but also require complex analysis, are costly, and still need their measurement properties corroborated. Subjective direct methods, such as questionnaires, diaries and direct observation, provide the richest information on walking, especially short-term diaries, such as trip records and time use records, and are particularly useful for assessing secondary purpose walking. A unifying measure for health research, surveillance and health promotion would strongly advance the understanding of the impact of walking on health.

The purpose of this paper is to get information on the background, demographic data and the lifestyle of adults with intellectual disability in Hong Kong shelter workshop; to get information on physical activity behaviour and psychosocial behaviour of adults with intellectual disability in Hong Kong sheltered workshop; to assess the concurrent validity and reliability of the baseline interview questionnaire (BIQ-C); and a trial run to test the feasibility on running a larger scale of study in future.

Psychosocial behaviour was assessed by BIQ-C (Heller et al., 2006) with sub-scale self-efficacy, outcome expectation, barrier to exercise; and physical activity assessment by pedometers. The participants completed the BIQ-C with an interviewer on fifth day morning before started work. Both step counts were collected and activity data were recorded in a log book separately during working hours and non-working hours on each four consecutive weekdays.

The percentage of obesity was serious among adults with intellectual disability in HK, especially on women; and adults with intellectual disability had more walking step counts in non-working time compared with that at working time, which was considered “low active” (5,000-7,499 step per day) in physical activity level. Besides, both male and female participants had high outcome expectation, barrier to exercise and low self-efficacy. Results showed that BIQ-C was valid and reliable as an outcome measure to be used for intellectual disability.

The sample represented adults with mild to moderate intellectual disability which were based on a centre supervisor ' s confirmation, and then subjects were randomly selected to participate. The results were based on mild to moderate grade participants wearing pedometer for four consecutive days, for those who were unable to wear the pedometer by themselves were excluded from this study (severe intellectual disability). Moreover, the results only reflect the number of steps during weekdays, there was no data on weekends.

Assessment tools are valid and reliable among adults with intellectual disability in Hong Kong. Study showed that running a larger scale of intervention is possible and feasible in sheltered workshop.

There is relatively little information on the physical activity patterns and psychosocial behaviour of workers with intellectual disability in Hong Kong, intervention may help understanding and promote health in this population.

This study aims to establish a Japanese-style healthcare program customized for Japan and Asia under ISO 9001: 2008 (ISO: International Organization for Standardization) to improve problem areas and to inspect the effectiveness of the program. Furthermore, the authors wanted to create this health program using the ISO widely available in Asian countries and make an international contribution.

The authors implemented a 6- to 10-month health program in Minowa Town, Matsumoto City and Nagano City in Japan. This study assessed findings from pedometric, anthropometric and blood pressure measurements and physical fitness, blood chemistry and brain function tests.

The comparisons were made by examining the interaction effects between groups of participants. Groups from three regions in Japan showed significant differences on the physical fitness tests; regarding the 10-meter obstacle walk, the results of the Minowa participants showed the greatest improvement and the Matsumoto participants showed the second greatest improvement. In the six-min walk, the time of the Minowa participants significantly improved.

This health education program, which has been conducted by the Japanese authors since 1998, measures anthropometry, brain function and physical fitness and performs blood tests before and after the program and it measures energy consumption with a pedometer during the program. With the aim of improving exercise via encouragement from friends and a sense of community with fellow participants, participants learn together with hands-on training in tai chi and aerobics about the importance of ongoing exercise and proper nutrition. This health education met the Health Education ISO in 2014.

Since 2010, Nagano Prefecture, including Minowa Town, Matsumoto City and Nagano City, where our study was carried out, has been the area with the highest life expectancy rates in Japan.

The authors want to make this health promotion through ISO widely available in Asian countries and an international contribution.

This study aimed to appropriately establish a Japanese-style healthcare program under the ISO 9001:2008 to improve problem areas and inspect its effectiveness.

The purpose of this chapter is to review and synthesise the available evidence for the health benefits of walking. It follows a non-systematic evidence review and finds that the evidence base for the health benefits of walking is growing. Increasingly we are finding strong evidence for the beneficial effects of walking for both individuals and populations. More evidence is required on how to better understand the health outcomes associated with walking and how to promote long term increases in walking behaviour. Systematic reviews of specific health benefits remain rare. Walking should be promoted in all population groups regardless of age or sex. There are currently few existing integrative syntheses of the physical and mental health outcomes associated with walking and this chapter aims to help fill that gap.

The population of New Zealand (NZ) is ageing; the proportion of people aged 65 and over as compared with the younger age groups is expected to increase from 15 per cent in 2016 to approximately 30 per cent by 2068. This change in demographics is bound to apply some pressure on economic resources due to factors such as superannuation and increased healthcare needs. The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of technology as being economically beneficial for managing the grey tsunami that has commenced in NZ. Though technology is still not being utilised to its full capacity in the healthcare sector, there is a reason enough to believe that it could be used in assisting with ageing in place. However, its cost-effectiveness has not been clearly demonstrated.

A literature search was performed using search engines such as ProQuest, EBSCO, CINAHL and Google Scholar. Keywords used were ageing in place, technology, assisted living technology, ageing, telecare and telehealth. The papers selected were publicly available. To determine if the cost evaluation literature were of acceptable quality, they were assessed according to a well-recognised economic evaluation checklist by Drummond et al. (2005).

As is evident from the demographic figures, there needs to be timely intervention to appropriately manage the ageing population given the projected financial and population figures. Technology has proved beneficial especially with positive ageing. A significant reason for it hardly being used is the lack of thorough studies that demonstrate its cost-effectiveness. The studies that have tackled the subject of economic evaluation have provided mixed results with some labelling technology as cost-effective and the others opposing this finding. Studies have shown that even the simplest form of technology such as a phone call, mobile health application or a pedometer can be effective.

The majority of research and funding is directed towards supporting the frail adults instead there should be equal focus on those who are reaching the old age group. Since current data suggest that people are living longer, early intervention is beneficial to reduce the number of years lived with disabilities along with associated costs of disease burden.

Healthcare policymakers need to take more proactive steps through incorporating technology rather than deferring its use until proven beneficial by large studies as this is not feasible given the rate at which technology is developing. Studies have shown that even the simplest form of technology such as a phone call, mobile health application or a pedometer can be effective.

Technology increases awareness and allows people to be more disciplined with their health plan which increases good health. Early intervention also means relying and involving the primary level of care to manage the disease which would be more economically beneficial than postponing care until the disease progresses in which case secondary or tertiary levels of care must be sought.

This is an emerging field in the area of aged care and only begins to expand potential horizons. Studies show that a significant number of the population prefer to stay in their own homes as they age and that with the improvement in technology this could become a reality. However, health planners need to be considering technology when developing health and social services.

Health scientists and urban planners have long been interested in the influence that the built environment has on the physical activities in which we engage, the environmental hazards we face, the kinds of amenities we enjoy, and the resulting impacts on our health. However, it is widely recognized that the extent of this influence, and the specific cause-and-effect relationships that exist, are still relatively unclear. Recent reviews highlight the need for more individual-level data on daily activities (especially physical activity) over long periods of time linked spatially to real-world characteristics of the built environment in diverse settings, along with a wide range of personal mediating variables. While capturing objective data on the built environment has benefited from wide-scale availability of detailed land use and transport network databases, the same cannot be said of human activity. A more diverse history of data collection methods exists for such activity and continues to evolve owing to a variety of quickly emerging wearable sensor technologies. At present, no “gold standard” method has emerged for assessing physical activity type and intensity under the real-world conditions of the built environment; in fact, most methods have barely been tested outside of the laboratory, and those that have tend to experience significant drops in accuracy and reliability. This paper provides a review of these diverse methods and emerging technologies, including biochemical, self-report, direct observation, passive motion detection, and integrated approaches. Based on this review and current needs, an integrated three-tiered methodology is proposed, including: (1) passive location tracking (e.g., using global positioning systems); (2) passive motion/biometric tracking (e.g., using accelerometers); and (3) limited self-reporting (e.g., using prompted recall diaries). Key development issues are highlighted, including the need for proper validation and automated activity-detection algorithms. The paper ends with a look at some of the key lessons learned and new opportunities that have emerged at the crossroads of urban studies and health sciences.

We do have a vision for a world in which people can walk to shops, school, friends' homes, or transit stations; in which they can mingle with their neighbors and admire trees, plants, and waterways; in which the air and water are clean; and in which there are parks and play areas for children, gathering spots for teens and the elderly, and convenient work and recreation places for the rest of us. (Frumkin, Frank, & Jackson, 2004, p. xvii)

The purpose of this paper is to test the effects of augmenting an evidence-based physical activity intervention within an existing commercial weight loss program to assess effects on increasing physical activity and reducing psychological distress.

The CONSORT guidelines were adopted for the study. In total, 49 women with overweight or obesity (M age=39.5, SD:12.4; M Body Mass Index=31.02, SD: 2.10) enrolled in a six week commercial weight loss program were randomized to an intervention or a control group. Participants in the control group received care as usual; participants in the intervention group additionally received an evidence-based intervention to increase physical activity that included behavior change techniques including implementation intentions, goal-setting and self-monitoring.

Weekly steps increased in the intervention group (M=31,516.25; SD=9,310.17 to M=62,851.36; SD=13,840.4) significantly more (p<0.001, η p 2 =0.32) than in the control group (M=30,207.67; SD=7,833.29) to M=46,969.33 (SD=9,470.96), along with experiencing significantly lower anxiety (p<0.001, η p 2 =0.15), social dysfunction (p<0.001, η p 2 =0.16) and depression symptoms (p<0.05, η p 2 =0.08) at follow-up.

This intervention warrants extension to those seeking to improve mental health through physical activity.

This study took a novel approach of augmenting a commercial weight loss program with a theory-based physical activity module, showing positive effects for physical activity behavior and psychological health.