DETERMINING A CONVENIENT MOBILE PEDOMETER APP AND ITS PERFORMANCE IN ASSESSING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY STATUS AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Abstract

Introduction: Many young people nowadays have sedentary lifestyle which might contribute to obesity prevalence. With the technology advancement, pedometer mobile applications (apps) are now available to promote physical activity and track steps. Nevertheless, not many studies have systematically evaluated the convenience and reliability of these apps in objectively measuring physical activity. Thus, this study aimed to identify the most convenient pedometer app to be used in tracking the number of steps and validate it against a subjective assessment (self-reported) method using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF) in identifying physical activity status among university students. Methods: Undergraduate students at the International Islamic University Malaysia aged 18 to 27 years were recruited using convenient sampling.  A preliminary study was conducted among 10 study participants to select between Accupedo® and Map My Walk® pedometer apps for tracking steps count. They were required to use both pedometer apps and rate their experience. Subsequently, the selected pedometer app (Accupedo® Pedometer) and the IPAQ were used to assess physical activity status of study participants (N=86) over three days (two weekdays and one weekend day). Data obtained by the pedometer app were categorized as low active, moderate active and active while IPAQ-SF data were categorized into low, moderate, and high status. The relative agreement between these data were analysed using Kappa statistics, cross-classification, and Pearson correlation. Results: It was found that 74% (based on IPAQ) and 91% (based on pedometer app) of the study participants were categorized as low active.  The Kappa value was k=0.126 (p=0.016) indicating a slight but significant agreement between these two methods. Cross-classification demonstrated that 40% (n=34) of the study participants were correctly classified into the same tertiles whereas 16% (n=14) were grossly misclassified. In addition, the average steps count/day (by pedometer app) was significantly correlated (r=0.235, p=0.03) with total MET-minutes/week as recorded by the IPAQ-SF. Conclusion: The pedometer app was comparable to the IPAQ-SF in assessing physical activity status. This shows that a cost-free and convenient mobile app is applicable to be used for daily physical activity assessment among young people.