Health Benefits of Pedometers

Pedometers are increasingly gaining popularity among people who are trying to increase physical activity in their daily lives, who want to improve weight loss (especially when hitting a plateau), and who want to lower blood pressure and improve their overall health.

The benefits of pedometers have been observed in numerous studies. NBC nightly news recently reported that people who wear a pedometer walk 1 more mile on average than those who do not. Many studies have concluded that wearing a pedometer motivates people to walk more.

The April 2005 issue of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise® proved that women who wear a pedometer actually take about 20% more steps than those who don't.

Twenty-six studies on the use of pedometers reviewed in the November 21, 2007 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that pedometer use significantly increases physical activity, especially with use of a step goal or diary. The studies further revealed that the use of a pedometer is linked to decreases in BMI by 0.38 kg/m2, systolic blood pressure by 3.8 mm Hg, and diastolic blood pressure by 0.3 mm Hg. Read more about the findings here.

A pedometer (also referred to as stepometer) is a device that calculates the distance you have walked, jogged, or run. It senses your movements and counts your steps, then converts your steps into distance by knowing the length of your stride.

You can wear the pedometer all day, every day or you can just wear it during workouts or your daily walks. Either way, using a pedometer will motivate you to increase your walking, particularly if you set goals. This motivation to stay active can have significant benefits on your overall health and wellness.

Using a pedometer is relatively easy. The pedometer can be worn clipped onto your waistband or belt, or conveniently tucked it into your pocket or purse if you use the Omron HJ-720ITC Pocket Pedometer, and will monitor every step as you go about your daily activity.

A pedometer makes for a wonderfully beneficial fitness tool. Pedometers are extremely easy to use and measure your activity level continuously throughout the day. They are great motivators, too! Just wearing a pedometer will get you thinking about taking extra steps. Those extra steps are what make the difference between losing weight and just staying where you are. It can be a powerful motivation tool for taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking down the hall at work instead of making that phone call or sending an email, or parking farther away from the grocery store entrance.

After researching many different pedometers on the market, I found the Omron HJ-720ITC Pocket Pedometer was the best overall choice. The reviews for this pedometer were outstanding and the price was very affordable for all the features it came with.

The Omron HJ-720ITC Pocket Pedometer is a full-featured pedometer (steps, distance, calories) that also allows users to upload all the collected data to generate helpful graphs and charts of steps, aerobic steps, distance, calories and fat burned. It includes software that keeps track of daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly progress.

My next favorite is the Omron HJ-112 Digital Premium Pedometer. This one is very similar and a little less expensive, but it does not come with the Health Management Software, and stores only 1 week of memory, as opposed to 6 weeks with the Omron HJ-720ITC Pocket Pedometer.

The advance design of the Omron HJ-720ITC Pocket Pedometer allows for more tilt toleration than that of other units I researched. I also love that it is lightweight, silent, and very accurate. Check out all the positive reviews on Amazon.com.

Purchase this pedometer, or any of the other pedometers available on sale now at Optimum Life NOW.

I am not affiliated with Omron. I simply find their pedometers, particularly the two mentioned in this lens, are a better buy than others I've researched.

What are you waiting for? Start walking and start losing! You can purchase the Omron HJ-720ITC Pocket Pedometer HERE. Or choose from many other pedometers too if you feel like shopping around yourself.

I personally recommend the Omron HJ-720ITC Pocket Pedometer, but you don't have to get my favorite. They're all beneficial. The important thing is that you get a pedometer and start steppin'.