McDonald's Stepometer

I'd love to see everybody wearing this pedometer and tracking their steps each day and increasing them. It is a good introduction for people to wearing a pedometer and tracking their steps. But the two that I tested under-recorded steps by 1/3 vs. what is regarded as the standard pedometer, the Digi-Walker.

First, let me give a walking ovation to McDonald's for distributing millions of pedometers nationwide in their Go Active! Meals. I give a rave review of the Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad - it is delicious and truly fresh. The Stepometer pedometer is simple, as might be expected for the free price. The only thing it does is count steps, and it has a reset button to press when you want to zero it again. In using it, you should aim to increase your daily steps by 2000 more a day to maintain weight, more to lose weight. The clip is fairly secure. It comes in a variety of fun colors, with a casing over the step display so you don't accidentally hit the reset button.

Now for the drawbacks - I tested it against a standard Digi-Walker pedometer. The two Stepometers I wore each undercounted steps relative to the Digi-Walker by 1/3 during a dedicated walk. The Stepometer books says that it edits out "junk steps," but in my test I was walking at a steady pace with few stops for 7 miles. During the test I switched the pedometers around to ensure one hip was not wonky compared to the other. But other testers in our Forum report their Stepometer recorded too many steps. Use the Stepometer as a guide to increasing steps, but take its accuracy with a grain of salt.

The pedometer also clicked with each step, something more advanced pedometers don't do. I suggest people get into the pedometer habit with the Stepometer, then buy a better pedometer down the road. Thanks again, McDonald's!