A pedometer is an
intelligent electronic device that measures the distance travel by foot, either
by walking or by running, which it does so generally by sensing a body motion.
A pedometer is an easy-to-use and inexpensive device that may be clipped to the
waist of clothes, worn on the wrist or put inside shoes. The British Health Foundation recommends that walk 10,000 steps
a day to for long term health and reduced chronic disease risk. According to Dr
James Hill, co-author of The Step Diet Book 6,000 steps is required to burn off
the calories in a large portion of chips. But if a person wants to achieve
successful and sustained weight loss then she/he needs to achieve a daily
average of between 12,000 and 15,000 steps.
To
achieve a healthy
lifestyle or goals, a pedometer is needed. The development of devices aimed at counting steps has been linked to
Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson and other inventors. But it was the
Japanese development of the modern pedometer in the 1960s and the worldwide
running craze that emerged in the 1970s that established the pedometer as a
vital fitness gadget. As technology has continued to improve, and simple
pedometers became inexpensive in the early 21st century and high-tech
innovators were able to create pedometers capable of not only recording steps,
distance and calories burned, but of transferring that data onto your computer.
The common pedometer uses a pendulum technology which is not accurate due to limitation of pendulum or too much movement. Basic pedometers are based on simple pendulum technology that dates back to the nineteenth century. A pedometer strapped to waist detects hip movement with an internal horizontal arm (pendulum) suspended on a spring or wire. When foot hits the ground, the impact swings the pendulum, which hits a sensor on a stationary post, completing an electrical circuit. The pedometer registers a step each time the circuit is completed. How well this design works depends on several factors, including the length and weight of the pendulum, and the type of post and proximity to the pendulum. Over time, this tiny hairspring loses strength and the post begins to droop, causing this type of pedometer to become less accurate.
Figure 1: Previous pedometer using pendulum
Figure 2: Inside previous pedometer
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