Pedometers are small instruments worn at the waistline to count your steps. Some units can be programmed with step or stride length to calculate total distance walked or run, and some estimate calories burned. They can be classified by the type of mechanism they use, piezoelectric or spring-lever, or they can be classified as multifunction or single function.
Spring-levered
Walking and running cause up and down body movements. A weight at the end of a horizontal arm suspended on a spring bounces with each step. Each bounce opens or closes an electronic counting switch or a clockwork mechanism to tally the steps. These pedometers must be held vertically to clothing, as on a stiff, wide belt, to work properly. Tilting horizontally causes inaccurate or no counting.
Piezoelectric
Piezoelectric substances, usually chips of crystalline quartz, pump out a small electric impulse when they are squeezed or mechanically stressed. In a piezoelectric pedometer, a weighted arm is engineered to compress a piezoelectric crystal with the jolt of each step. The series of electric impulses corresponds to steps taken, and the impulses are electronically counted and tallied. Piezoelectric pedometers are examples of electronic accelerometers.
Multifunction
Most multifunction pedometers report total steps, calories burned and total distance traveled. Some use standard male and female averages for step length; others make estimates based on height measurements the user can program into the pedometer. Various multifunction units also allow users to input actual, measured step or stride length to provide higher accuracy. Other examples also contain a clock and an event memory.
Single Function
A single function pedometer simply counts steps--the prime function of these devices. This simplicity usually makes single function pedometers the smallest, least expensive units. Many fitness advisers recommend 10,000 steps a day as a reasonable goal for a wellness program, and a simple, inexpensive step counter may be the best choice.
A new pedometer of any kind should always be checked by actually counting steps (for instance, 100) and comparing to the pedometer reading.
Variety
Examples of each type of pedometer are marketed at both high price ($100+) and low price (less than $1), depending on accuracy, features, size, color, and combinations of features. At least one example of a multifunction pedometer is sold with an included GPS unit for hard-core runners who want a record of their long-distance treks.
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