Step into Shape… with a Pedometer

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Nicole Meadow, Registered Dietician

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

So by now you know that it is extremenly important to be physically active on a daily basis. The next question is: how is it possible to fit this in to your family’s busy schedule?

Recent statistics compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System data suggests that approximately 35% of adolescents do not participate in regular physical activity; 45% of children do not play on any sports teams; and only 29% of high school students attend daily PE classes.

So…how can you increase your family’s activity level and therefore improve their overall health? Try using a pedometer! Pedometers easily measure the steps (called “lifestyle steps”) that each of us take throughout the day. Walking is a great way to stay in shape and can be a fun way to increase your entire family’s level of physical activity.

Start by purchasing pedometers for all members of the family. The first week, simply record the amount of steps taken by each member. The following week make a goal of how many steps you want to increase your daily total by. (Adults should aim to take 10,000 steps per day to maintain a healthy weight status. A study published in the June 2004 “Prevention Medicine” revealed that children ages 6-12 should aim to take approximately 12,000 (girls) to 15,000 (boys) steps per day to maintain a healthy BMI.)

Try the following ideas to increase your daily steps:

Take the stairs, rather than the elevator whenever possible
Park at the far end of the parking lot
Hide the TV remote and get up to change the channels
Return the shopping cart all the way to the market
Walk the dog
When talking on the phone, walk around instead of sitting or standing
Before or after dinner, make a family routine of taking a 15-20 minute walk together

(FYI: 1 mile= 2000 steps; 10 minutes of walking= 1200 steps on average; bicycling or swimming= 150 steps for each minute; rollerblading= 200 steps per minute)

*Increasing the steps that you take each day will benefit the physical and mental health of both you and your family. Now let’s get moving!