Using A Pedometer

The pedometer is not a device we hear much about. In fact, it is conceivable that a lot of people who have had of the device may not know what it is for and how it works. The pedometer, also called a stepometer, is a device that measures the distance traveled, by either walking or running. The device measures the distance covered by the user by monitoring the motion of their hips. A pedometer however needs some form of manual calibration where there has to be a standard set for the approximate length of the human stride. The length does vary between the genders with the men at approximately 2.5ft and the women at 2.2 ft.

A pedometer is portable and can be attached to the waistband of the person wearing it. Other than that, it can just be ignored during the time it is worn. Since the calibrations necessary are already built into the device, the distance traveled for the day is easily calculated using the number of steps taken. Due to the fact that a pedometer doesn’t have to be monitored, it is a comfortable and hassle free way of collecting information on your activity.

The history of the pedometer goes back a long way. The invention of the device is credited to Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the US. He did not patent the idea and so it is unclear whether he designed it or just responsible for making it popular. The initial pedometer worked much like a pendulum. It was tied on the waist and collected readings as the person was walking or running. Similar inventions go back even further than that into the 15th century where roman soldiers used a similar device to ascertain how far they had walked. It is important to note however, the readings in these times were not as accurate as they are now.

There are many groups that can use a pedometer and one of them is doctors. This device lets doctors collect data on patients and that makes it easy to see how much effort a patient is putting into their required exercise program. For patients that need the daily exercise for health reasons, this information for doctors becomes even more important. Some of the pedometers available now can even post the collected data directly to a server where the doctor can directly access and monitor the patient’s progress.

Another reason for using the pedometer is simply exercise. Some people are using the pedometer to make their exercise routine more efficient. Using the pedometer, the user can be able to monitor his/her exercise program more closely. One can also be able to set realistic goals to increase their exercise threshold based on the information that they have collected using the device.

Pedometers can also be used to collect data for research, because they now are part of some GPS and GPRS capable devices which enable data to be posted online. There a few medical research companies that use pedometers to aid with studies on human behavior and their routines. This is usually a voluntary program and people can choose to participate or not.