Harvey, John ORCID: 0000-0001-6927-6580, Eime, Rochelle ORCID: 0000-0002-8614-2813 and Payne, Warren ORCID: 0000-0001-5046-3992 (2009) Effectiveness of the 2006 Commonwealth Games 10,000 steps walking challenge. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 41 (8). pp. 1674-1681. ISSN 0195-9131

Abstract

The use of pedometers to measure daily step counts has been shown to be a valid means of assessing physical activity (31). From a public health perspective, walking 10,000 steps per day is an established health promotion strategy and is equivalent to walking 6-8 km. Tudor-Locke and Bassett (30) concluded, based on both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, that there is "a fair degree of similarity between the 10,000 steps per day recommendation and the current US public health guidelines, if walking is the principal activity mode." People who accumulate 10,000 steps per day tend to have less body fat (29) and lower blood pressure (15) than less active individuals. Women with a history of hypertension or diabetes have been reported to have decreased blood pressure or resting blood glucose levels, respectively, as a result of accumulating 10,000 steps per day (21,27). From a population health perspective, a population-wide intervention based on the 10,000 steps concept has been shown to arrest a general downward trend in physical activity participation, and women were shown to be "early adopters" of this strategy (3). However, there is little evidence to support the sustainability of public health interventions based upon the 10,000 steps concept conducted in "real-world" settings as opposed to tightly controlled studies on the efficacy of the 10,000 steps strategy (30). The need to examine the effectiveness of "real-world" public health interventions has been strongly advocated by public health agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (10) and authors such as Glasgow et al. (14). The need for "real-world" or effectiveness trials recognizes the limited capacity to directly translate the findings of efficacy trials, which are generally conducted in well-controlled, standardized settings by well-resourced staff with little emphasis on sustainability, to the "real world" (14). Effectiveness trials are characterized by randomized time series or quasi-experimental designs where there is a focus upon sustainability within particular settings. The results of effectiveness trials are often able to be implemented by staff with varying capacities in a range of settings (14). The results from such effectiveness trials will enable "real-world" evidence to be used to improve decision making in the primary prevention of chronic disease (5). This study sought to investigate the effectiveness of a "real-world" 10,000 steps program linked to a major sporting event, concerning both the immediate effects on the level of walking undertaken by participants and the extent to which changes were sustained over a longer term

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