This project was commissioned by Slimming World. As part of their objective to help their clients increase daily physical activity, Slimming World wanted to suggest using pedometers.  However, the company were concerned about the wide availability of cheap and unreliable pedometers. They asked us to review the literature and test out the reliability of two of the better pedometers on the market with a view to their use with people who are overweight or obese. 

The research was conducted by Russ Thorne and Mark Davis. It involved a sample of 20 people walking measured distances around the indoor walking track at the Centre for Sport, Exercise and Health. In addition Katy Cartwright for her MSc dissertation recruited members of Slimming World weight loss groups to use the pedometers for a week to provide an indication of their feasibility, acceptability and their effect on motivation for walking.