Children Count the Steps to Fitness with New Rutgers Study

New Brunswick, N.J. — Approximately 1,000 children between the ages of 8 and 12, from 10 New Jersey schools, will participate in a study to determine the effects on physical activity of using pedometers during their school day.

The six-week study, a joint effort of the Department of Health and Senior Services and Rutgers’ Family and Community Health Sciences Department, will have children wearing a pedometer during their school day to track the number of steps they take. With the assistance of a teacher, each group will choose a walking goal from the website for “Get Moving–Get Healthy New Jersey,” a statewide initiative that aims to help New Jerseyans to eat more healthful foods and to increase their physical activity to reduce obesity. Get Moving–Get Healthy New Jersey’s Walk New Jersey Point to Point’s online walking program allows participants to choose their own goals and to keep track of their progress through an online activity log.

Each child will be asked to track his or her steps on a weekly log for six weeks and all progress will be tracked on the website. Teachers will be provided with a program called “Fit Bits,” which is designed to increase the student’s physical activity with 10–15-minute-long activities designed to get children out of their seats and moving. These activities will also reinforce a basic nutrition concept or social skill. The students’ parents will receive regular nutrition and physical activity updates during the program through a newsletter called Wellness Buddies.

“We are excited to work with these students to determine how wearing pedometers can increase awareness of the steps and amount of physical activity they engage in during the school day,” said Kathleen Morgan, chair of the Family & Community Health Sciences Department at Rutgers Cooperative Extension, a unit of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.