The validity of two Omron pedometers during treadmill walking is speed dependent

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of walking speed on the accuracy of measurement of steps, distance, and energy expenditure of two commercially available Omron pedometers [HJ-720IT-E2 (HJ-720) and HJ-113-E (HJ-113)]. Twenty-four untrained males (age, 22.7 ± 2.8 years; BMI, 24.38 ± 2.19 kg m⁻²; body fat (%), 16 ± 2.2; VO_2max, 40.2 ± 6.5 ml kg⁻¹ min⁻¹) and 18 females (age, 22.4 ± 2.9 years; BMI, 21.68 ± 2.43 kg m⁻²; body fat (%), 23% ± 1.8; VO_2max, 35.9 ± 2.8 ml kg⁻¹ min⁻¹) walked at five different velocities (54, 67, 80, 94 and 107 m min⁻¹) on a treadmill in 5-min stages while wearing three types of pedometers: (a) HJ-720, (b) HJ-113, and (c) Yamax Digi-Walker SW-200 (YAM). Step-count for each pedometer was recorded at the end of each stage and compared with the value of a hand counter. Additionally, Omron pedometers were evaluated on their distance and energy expenditure (against VO₂ measurement with a gas-exchange analyzer) accuracy during each stage. HJ-720 and HJ-113 demonstrated high accuracy (r = 0.80–0.99) at all speeds. YAM underestimated step-count only at 54 m min⁻¹ (r = 0.46). HJ-720 and HJ-113 overestimated distance at slower speeds and underestimated distance at faster speeds, providing mean distance values that where to within 1.5–4% at 80 m min⁻¹. HJ-720 and HJ-113 underestimated energy expenditure (gross kilocalories) by 28%, when compared to indirect calorimetry. These results suggest that although the Omron HJ-720 and HJ-113 pedometers are accurate in the measurement of step-count, they demonstrate limited accuracy in the assessment of traveled distance and energy expenditure in a speed-dependent manner.