Everyday Systems: urbanranger: message 7 of 46

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Last urban ranger/nosdiet crosspost, I promise...

According to my "stepometer" (a joint production of
mcdonalds and the coca cola company), I took 15,699
steps yesterday between leaving for work and coming
home for dinner. I'm not sure how accurate this thing
is, just taking it off to look at seems to jostle it
enough to register a couple dozen steps (Heisenberg
uncertainty principle or shoddy manufacturing?), but
even if the count is off by a few thousand, I'm
satisfied. I walked my usual 20 minutes to work, 20
minutes home, and about 45 at lunch. I can't believe
this is really more than 5 miles (2000 steps is about
a mile, from what I've read), so I'm more than a
little suspicious of this number, but in any case,
it's clear I'm over 10,000, and I'm not going to worry
about it.

The nice thing about the mcdonalds pedometer (besides
that it's cheap) is that it is simple to use and only
does one thing (no fm radio or calorie counter to
clutter up the interface, all the pedometers I looked
at on amazon had something like this that I didn't
want). There's nothing to calibrate, just a reset
button and an lcd screen to display the count. The not
so nice thing is, as mentioned above, that it does not
seem to be the most accurate device of its kind on the
market. But is this really an issue unless you are
doing scientific studies? Probably not. Ballpark is
good enough for me.

Though for those who want to use it as a motivational
tool, better accuracy might provide better motivation.
I found some reviews here:

http://walking.about.com/cs/measure/tp/pedometer.htm

I have to admit, my wife ordered the adult happy meal
(a salad), I got a more traditional #1. But we then
walked, me with my "stepometer" strapped to my belt
and a big mac digesting in my belly, to see the movie
"Super Size Me," about a guy who ate nothing but
McDonalds for a month and the (predictable, I thought)
consequences. I had mixed feelings on the movie itself
(maybe I'll post a review if I find time), but that's
definitely the way to see it :-).

Reinhard

--- Reinhard Engels <beautiful_idiot@...> wrote:
> Thanks for posting this, Kitrin.
> 
> I don't think the Amish numbers are all steady
> walking, either (though you're right, that probably
> is
> better).
> 
> 10,000 seems to be the the realistic daily minimum
> target recommended by most walking sites, so you're
> not far off.
> 
> It's interesting that the one day of the week the
> Amish averaged less than 10,000 (and not much less)
> was Sunday, the day of rest. It's kind of sad that
> by
> Amish standards our whole week is one of (albeit
> profane) rest.
> 
> I'll post my number Monday. I'm hoping I'll be happy
> enough with it not to have to measure again, since I
> walk pretty much the same route every weekday, and
> fascinating as this whole pedometer business is, I
> can
> imagine getting sick of it fast.
> 
> Reinhard
> 
> --- kitrin1970 <kitrin1970@...> wrote:
> > I got one of those mcdonalds pedometers the other
> > day 
> > those salads are actually quite filling when you
> > drink all the water 
> > and have a peice of fruit with it.
> > 
> > Anyhow i wore the pedometer to work and set if the
> > minute i cahsed in 
> > and checked it at the time we cashed out. I took
> > 8416 steps.
> > That is not steady walking so it does not have the
> > exercise quality 
> > to it.. but if i could add just 4000 steps of
> steady
> > walking to that 
> > a day i would be doing good!
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > --- In , Reinhard
> Engels 
> > <beautiful_idiot@y...> wrote:
> > > In a nutshell:
> > > 
> > > As part of a recent study, 96 members of an old
> > order 
> > > Amish community in Ontario were given pedometers
> > to
> > > measure how much they walked. The men averaged
> > about
> > > 18,000 steps a day, the women 14,000. Their
> > obesity
> > > rate was just 4% (2 individuals).
> > > 
> > > By contrast, even Americans who are dedicated
> > walkers
> > > have trouble exceeding 10,000 steps a day. The
> > average
> > > American manages a mere 2,000 to 5,000. The
> United
> > > States has an obesity rate of over 30%.
> > > 
> > >
> >
>
http://walking.about.com/cs/measure/a/amish010704.htm
> > > 
> > >
> >
> http://www.harvard-magazine.com/on-line/050465.html
> > > 
> > > Obviously, walking is just one factor. These
> Amish
> > > spend hours a day tossing around bales of hay,
> > etc.
> > > But they also really pack it away at meals. I
> > think
> > > this astonishing disparity in walking has got to
> > be
> > > significant. It is also, unlike the bales of
> hay,
> > more
> > > easily replicable for us "English."
> > > 
> > > I'm cross posting this to the urbanranger group
> > > (because it's more relevant) and to the nosdiet
> > group
> > > (because it's still relevant and I actually want
> > > someone to read it). My apologies (and
> gratitude)
> > to
> > > the few who are members of both.
> > > 
> > > I think I'm going to invest in a pedometer, just
> > to
> > > see how this urban ranger is currently doing...
> > > 
> > > Oh, and for those who are concerned, "use of the
> > > pedometers and scales did not violate Amish
> > traditions
> > > because they were borrowed." (Harvard article)
> > > 
> > > Reinhard
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 

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