Daily Step Tracking Interview
Pedometers has helped many people reach their fitness goals. Being able to see how
many steps you are taking in a day, provides the knowledge needed to see if one should make
changes and where to start. My subject is a 34-year-old female, she is a nonsmoker, has a
body mass index of 40 and considers herself to be active.
I asked the subject “What comes to mind when you think of fitness?” Her response
was “When I think of health and fitness I think about a persons like overall well-being. Not
what the look like on the outside but on the inside as well. Having a healthy heart, healthy
organs, and everything in between. Then I also think about like a person’s strength and
wellness.” I asked the subject “What are some activities that you do every day?” Her
response was “I have two small kids so every morning I am getting them up, making
breakfast, I get my daughter ready for school, clean up a little bit, then put my daughter on
the bus. I work from home, so I am at my desk by 8:30 AM every morning and spend post of
the day there. I do get up whenever my son needs something, and we walk our dog. I also try
to ride my peloton bike for a minimum of 20 minutes”. I asked the subject “You mentioned
riding a Peloton Bike, tell me more about your exercise routines”. Her response was “Yeah so
since I am not able to go to a traditional gym because my son is home with me, I try to ride
my Peloton bike. Sometimes I do 90-minute rides with instructors, the minimum I do is 20
minutes. I will check the cycle schedule and try to ride a couple of 20-minute rides a day. It is
not much but it is better than nothing, I also take our dog on walks”. I asked the subject about
their lifestyle habits apart from what was previously mentioned. Her response was “Other
than walking our dog and riding the Peloton I don’t do much else. I do enjoy swimming and
hiking trails at the park near our house, but I don’t go there as often as I’d like because of my
working schedule”.
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Daily Step Tracking Interview
My subject is transitioning from a sedentary lifestyle to an active lifestyle. Which is
apparent by the trend on her pedometer. She uses an Apple Watch to track her daily
workouts, calories burned, and steps taken. She spends 9 hours a day sitting at a desk making
calls and answering emails. She mentioned to me she feels like she isn’t doing enough
because she does not do 10,000 steps a day. I shared with her an article from the American
Heart Association about where the goal of 10,000 steps came from. I also recommended she
investigate getting a standing desk with a walking pad she could place underneath so that she
is constantly moving. It seems she was more active in week 1, she burned more calories and
had a total of 27,075 steps for the entire week. While as for week 2, she believes she lost
motivation and burned less calories and got less steps, with a total of 20,455 for the week.
The laboratory test measuring Total Energy Expenditure I would choose, especially if
finances were not a factor is Indirect calorimetry. I would choose this method because it is
the most common and in a controlled setting it is a great indicator of total energy expenditure
and PAEE. Someone who burns more energy in this setting though exercise is easily
differentiated from someone who is sedentary and not burning any additional calories (Kohl
et al, 2020).
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Daily Step Tracking Interview
References
Are 10,000 steps really a magic number for health? www.heart.org. (2023, January 24).
https://www.heart.org/en/news/2021/11/16/is-10000-steps-really-a-magic-number-for-
health
Kohl, H. W., Murray, T. D., & Salvo, D. (2020). Foundations of physical activity and public
health (2nd ed.). Human Kinetics Publishers. ISBN: 9781492589976.
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