Podometers could help patients with chronic pulmonary disease

European respiratory journal: A sedentary lifestyle is a common feature in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Favored by the respiratory disability but also by the lifestyle, it is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Encourage patients to make a moderate but regular exercise intensity is therefore part of the usual advice of pulmonologists, but they are not followed. In this context, a South American study looked at the help that could bring the use of individual pedometers with visible targets.
Thus, during a 3-month individualized program to promote an increase in daily physical activity in COPD, patients were randomized to a standard incentive program (board walk at least 30 minutes / day) and a program following objectives: 

• less than 6000 steps / day increase of 3000 steps 
•  between 6000 and 9000 steps /  reach 9000 / day
• more than 9,000 not maintain at least that level.  

At the end of the study, the group with pedometer has improved significantly, with respect to the walking activity, with an average increase of 3080 steps. The scores of quality of life questionnaires also increased favorably in the intervention group. The gain on the distance traveled in 6-minute walk test is low: 12.4 m  in the group with pedometer versus -0.7 m (± 24.4 m) for patients encouraged " conventionally ".
This significant difference, however, is not clinically significant, unlike the results observed on the quality of life. The authors explain this discrepancy by the study population, which has a high proportion of patients with mild and moderate stages of COPD (GOLD I and II) and which maintain a good performance on the walk test (distance walked in 6 minutes Superior General to 460 meters).
In conclusion, this type of intervention, relatively simple to implement, could help in the fight against physical inactivity, at least in some COPD patients.