BMI-Referenced Cut-Points for Recommended Daily Pedometer-Determined Steps in Australian Children and Adolescents

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to establish sex-specific criterion-referenced standards for pedometer-determined physical activity related to body mass index (BMI)-defined weight status among youth. We analyzed data from 7-16-year-old boys (n = 338) and girls (n = 337) and used pedometer-assessed physical activity and anthropometric data to derive average steps/day and BMI. Sex-specific criterion-referenced standards for steps/day relating to healthy weight and overweight/obese were determined using the contrasting groups method. Healthy weight children took more steps/day than overweight or obese (boys: 14,413 vs. 12,088, and girls: 12,562 vs. 10,114, respectively; p < .001). The optimal BMI-referenced cut-point emerging from our sample was 16,000 steps/day for both boys and girls. Our results and those reported elsewhere suggest that youth take insufficient pedometer-determined steps/day to avoid becoming overweight.

Key words:

• Physical activity
• Weight status
• Youth

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Gavin R. McCormack

We acknowledge the Western Australian Premier's Physical Activity Task Force for providing the pedometer data. The first author is supported by Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research and Canadian Institutes of Health Research Postdoctoral Research Fellowships. The third author is supported by an Australian NHMRC Senior Research Fellowship (#503712). At the time of this study, the fifth author was with the School of Exercise Science at Loughborough University. Please address correspondence concerning this article to Gavin McCormack, Population Health Intervention Research Center, University of Calgary, TRW Building (3rd Floor), 3280 Hospital Drive, NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 4Z6.