It is well known that exercising regularly plays a crucial role in maintaining good health. The benefits of physical activity are both immediate and long-term as it both provides an instant boost to your well-being and decreases your risk of developing chronic illness. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that adults engage in 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity physical activity a week such as brisk walking 30 minutes a day for five days of the week or 75 minutes of more intense physical activity a week such as running a single session of 25 minutes three days out of the week. However, in today’s age of fitness watches, rings, and apps, the measuring of physical activity through counting steps has become increasingly popular. This raises the question: what is the best way to track exercise? Steps or time?
Step tracking has become a widely popular method of measuring exercise, thanks to its easy accessibility through phones and smart devices.
Image Source: Oscar Wong
A recent study conducted at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital investigated which method of tracking exercise was more beneficial. Data was collected from 14,399 healthy women 62 years or older from a Women’s Health Study. Between the years 2011 to 2015, the women were asked to wear accelerometers for seven consecutive days to measure time spent engaging in physical activity and their steps. The participants also completed annual questionnaires. The researchers followed up with the women in December 2022. The study found that both greater physical activity time and step count were associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, suggesting that both step count and time are similarly impactful.
The study’s lead researcher explains that both step count and time have their own advantages and disadvantages. Some individuals, such as older adults, may benefit from step count as it can even detect vigorous or general movements of activities in everyday life commonly performed by this demographic. On the other hand, tracking time might benefit those who regularly bike or swim as these activities make it harder and less accurate to log performance through step counts. In conclusion, for the vast majority of people, both time and step counts are effective ways to track physical activity, allowing you to choose the method that works best for you!
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