A tiny gadget sold in outdoor leisure shops and pharmacies could help people walk their way to health, according to a survey of 1,000 users.
The Step-O-Meter counts every step a walker takes, and enables the user to monitor and increase activity levels.
Research has found that it takes 10,000 strides every day to maintain health, but only 30 per cent of people achieve that level.
The survey of 1,000 users discovered that most were still using the device seven months after purchasing it, and more than half of those taking insufficient exercise when they first bought their Step-O-Meter had reached the recommended levels of 30 minutes of activity daily, five days a week, after only 12 weeks of usage.
The “Walking the way to Health” Initiative – a partnership between the British Heart Foundation and the Countryside Agency – estimates that 40,000 people were encouraged to walk more often as the result of an initial promotional campaign, which included people who had never previously responded to any attempts to make them exercise.
Step-O-Meter users are encouraged to increase the number of strides they take by 10 per cent each week until they hit their target.
The Department of Health has partially funded the distribution of 10,000 of the devices to 135 primary care trusts with high levels of coronary heart disease, with the aim of prescribing them to any patient who would benefit from taking exercise.
Posted by James at March 1, 2004 07:14 PM