Research by Alumnus Suggests Using Technology to Count Steps in P.E. Programs

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Timothy Baghurst, right, talks with a student about a wearable fitness device.

Teaching is just part of what University of Arkansas alumnus Timothy Baghurst does in his job at Oklahoma State University. Baghurst also researches ways to improve the preparation of physical education teachers.

In a recent study published by PHEnex Journal (Physical & Health Education Nexus), Baghurst and two colleagues found that using technology that measures the number of steps a person takes each day may be a better measurement of fitness than the traditional fitness test required of students studying to be P.E. teachers.

For national accreditation, P.E. teacher-education programs must provide evidence that their students achieve and maintain a health-enhancing level of fitness.

"Over the past few years I've been investigating how P.E. programs test their students' fitness levels," Baghurst said. "What we found was that there is no gold standard, and using wearable technology might give a more accurate account of students' physical activity and health over a one-time fitness test."

Most P.E. programs test their students' fitness using the PACER, or progressive aerobic cardiovascular endurance run, which requires a minimum standard.

"Observing this test over many years, I've seen students just do the bare minimum and stop. It can also be a very embarrassing experience for those who are not particularly fit," Baghurst noted. "We're looking for a better way, and we think that accurate measures of daily physical activity, or steps per day, may be a truer reflection of whether a student is modeling health and fitness."

Baghurst's study involved 25 undergraduate P.E. students at OSU who completed both a fitness test and wore an activity-monitoring device for 14 days. Participants took significantly more than 10,000 steps per day and averaged just over 30 minutes of moderate physical activity daily. According to the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association, at least 30 minutes per day for at least five days a week constitutes moderate physical activity. Research has shown that 10,000 steps per day are equal to 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity.

Baghurst received his doctorate in kinesiology from the U of A in 2008, and now coordinates the P.E. program and a 20-hour coaching science minor at OSU. Earlier this year, he was named a Research Fellow of SHAPE (Society of Health and Physical Educators) America.

According to a position statement from SHAPE America published in 2010, P.E. teachers and coaches are strong models for children and youth in aspects of physical fitness that can influence many attitudes and behaviors, including health practices, motor skill acquisition, and the adoption of physical activity patterns. Modeling is an important disposition to Baghurst, and he's concerned that not all health professionals are living their profession even if they can pass a fitness test.

"What's healthier: someone who can pass a fitness test to then be a couch potato for the weekend, or the person that struggles for aerobic fitness but walks their dog for an hour each day?" 

Although results of the Baghurst study found that P.E. students were achieving minimum levels of physical activity for health-enhancing benefits, Baghurst and a group of undergraduate researchers intend to discover whether these results are different to students in other majors where modeling health is not an expectation.

The study also found that being monitored did not appear to influence the study participants' level of activity. During the two weeks studied, the participants were told the monitors would track sun exposure one week and steps per day the next week, when their activity was actually being measured both weeks. The amount of physical activity when the students knew they were being monitored was the same as the week they were unaware, the study found.

According to Baghurst, "This finding has some real-world relevance. For example, just because you're wearing a physical activity device, or just because you're tracking your physical activity in a workplace competition, doesn't mean you'll do more physical activity."

Rather, Baghurst says, "It all comes down to how motivated you are to be physically active. The device is just a supporting aid."