Tracking Steps as Exercise to Lose Weight
Study Introduction
Client demographics and characteristics
The client is a 21-year-old Mexican American male. He has attributed his weight gain to poor eating habits and lack of exercise. Specifically, he tends to consume high–fat and high–caloric foods, with an insufficient intake of vegetables and fruits, associated with a higher risk of obesity and overweightness. The client frequently eats oily fried food and sodas high in sugar and calories more than five times a week. Consequently, his weight is 103.4 kilograms, his waist circumference (due to abdominal fat) is 98 centimeters, and a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30. Overall, the client is obese. He does not smoke but habitually drinks alcohol. The client’s income group is within the middle-income groups, resides in an urban area, and is presently a college student. The client wants to join a weight reduction program to reduce the likelihood of getting diseases associated with obesity, including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, joint pain, subfertility, stroke, colon, and pancreatic cancers, and sleep apnoea. Overweightness has caused the client several functional limitations, poor quality of life, and emotional and mental health issues.
Target behavior
The client seeks to lose weight through physical activity to address his obesity. Multiple studies, including that of Philippou (2019), indicate the importance of regular physical activity in helping individuals attain and maintain healthy weight levels. Physical exercise forces the body to use stored calories, and when coupled with a reduction of calories consumed, it results in a calorie deficit, which leads to net weight loss. Regular physical activity will also help the client maintain healthy weight levels. The physical activity will involve moderate intense exercises whereby the client will walk briskly to cover one mile in 15 minutes. The client’s target behavior involves tracking the steps during the walking exercises. The center for disease control describes moderate intense exercise as a physical activity whereby the heart and breathing are noticeably increased. However, the person can still engage in a conversation and includes light snow shoveling, walking briskly, light yard work, and casual biking (CDC, 2015). Walking exercises are expected to use about 280 calories for a person weighing 154lb (70kgs) and higher calories for persons weighing more (CDC, 2015). The target behavior might be problematic for the client if they do not strictly follow the exercise routine to attain weight loss goals. If the client is successful in tracking their steps, they can assess the efficacy of regular exercise to reduce weight. Further, if the intervention is successful, the client’s wellness will be improved in terms of enhanced functionality, mental and emotional well-being, and reduced likelihood of illnesses such as high blood pressure, musculoskeletal disorders, and diabetes.
Client goal
The client will self–monitor the intervention so that he can identify and keep track of his behavior through self-regulation. Self-monitoring has been defined as maintaining records of a given behavior to enable behavioral change (Compernolle, 2019). Self–monitoring depends on one core principle; measuring the individual’s target behavior, then comparing it with external standards for lasting behavioral improvements. Self-monitoring is also considered to have reactive impacts since the person has to have to monitor certain behavior and react to the information by changing the target behavior accordingly (Interventioncentral, n.d.). Using this strategy, the client will recognize and increase actions that are likely to cause positive outcomes. Also, the client will use the tracking application Strava. The application records routes and helps users analyze their exercise using various statistics to compare their performance over time. It captures data such as track distance, speed, pace, and calories used in every exercise. Users can share their progress on social media platforms so that followers and friends can comment and share experiences.
Hypothesis and variables
Hypothesis
Tracking steps as physical exercise will help in reducing body weight
Study variables operational definitions
Independent variables: Steps taken as physical exercise (Physical activity in terms of daily walks)
Dependent variables: Bodyweight (the client’s mass expressed in kilograms)
Intervention
The role of regular physical activity on helping individuals lose weight and maintain healthy weight levels cannot be overstated. Agencies such as the American Diabetes Association assert that exercise should be an integral part of all weight loss programs (Cox, 2017). Exercise and physical activity help persons attain their weight loss objective through energy expenditure. Weight loss is often achieved by reducing energy intake due to dietary change or increasing energy expenditure, such as by exercise, which results in a negative energy balance (Westerterp, 2019). A randomized and controlled trial involving 52 obese men showed a bodyweight reduction of 7.5kilograms over three months among the exercise group (Cox, 2017). The exercise regimen the exercise group to use 700- calories every day for a one-hour workout. Thus, effective weight loss is impossible with physical exercise alone.
Further, digital health technology provides tools that persons seeking to lose weight can utilize to assist in self-monitoring weight and physical activity by receiving feedback about weight loss status. A 2015 nationwide survey in the U.S revealed that the number of Americans using technology tools, including exercise trackers to aid in weight loss, is rising dramatically. Brindal et al. (2019) point out that the recent technological advances have resulted in a shift to phone-based bodyweight management interventions, making it easy for users to extend the duration of the engagement. Studies by Cheatham (2018) have shown that weight loss interventions lasting less than six months and involving weight loss trackers are more suitable among middle-aged and older adults than standard weight loss programs. Therefore, exercise trackers are an appropriate method for weight management.
Measurement
The target behavior will be measured by counting the steps and the corresponding body weight. The anthropometric weights (height and weight) will be used to calculate BMI. The steps and body weight measurements will be used to assess the efficacy of walking exercise to lose weight. The steps measurements will be taken by the client at his home every day while he will measure his body weight every two weeks, whereby they will fill the steps taken and their body weight into a health form prepared by health professionals. The entire measurement period will last for 100 days. The tools that will be used to take measurements include a stadiometer to measure the height for BMI calculations, a digital weight scale, and the Strava application. The data collection tools and the health forms will be examined by statisticians to ensure content consistency and validity. The measurements will be standardized by using the same measuring equipment throughout the study.
Study design
The study design refers to the overall strategy that the researcher uses to logically integrate the various parts of the study to ensure that the research problem is effectively addressed. This inquiry is a single-case experimental study. Due to difficulties in getting a reference point to assess impact and changes, the study will use behavior that frequently occurs, such as walking so that an extended baseline period will not be necessary. The intervention will be carried out in two phases, each lasting 50 days. The first phase will highlight whether the steps taken when walking are effective in reducing the client’s weight. The second phase will depend on the outcome of intervention from the first phase.
The study will use ten data points in each phase for weight and steps since measurements will be taken after every ten days by the client. The units of measurements for weight will be given in kilograms up to two decimal points. The other measurements will be the number of steps taken in every ten days. At the start of the study, the client’s height will be taken to be used in calculating the client’s body mass index. The count data will involve discrete positive values. Potential measurement errors include systematic errors due to improperly calibrated instruments and random errors, which are natural errors due to the methods used in data collection. These systematic errors will be addressed by taking the instruments to the college statistics department to ensure that they are well-calibrated. Since random errors are generally unavoidable, the client will be rigorously trained about how to take measurements.
Chart
Figure 1. Graph showing the number of steps taken and the corresponding weight lost in kilograms.
Figure 2. Chart showing the number of steps taken and the corresponding weight lost in kilograms.
Evaluation
The client walked ten thousand steps every day for 100 days. The data concerning the steps taken and the corresponding body weight indicate that physical exercise is effective in body weight reduction as he lost about one kilogram for every 100,000 steps. Importantly, the client’s body mass index reduced, and he is no longer obese. The client improved in several aspects, including improved functionally, mental, and emotional well-being and improved fitness and sleep quality. If the target behavior was improved, the client should have recorded more weight reduction. The conclusions are of the study are based on the client self- data and comparison with similar studies. Other factors that could have influenced the study outcome include a dietary change by the client since diet modifications have been shown to impact weight change positively.
Discussion
The study went as planned as the client was able to track steps throughout the assessment period. The study was also successful because the client lost weight. However, the study was affected by time and money constraints resulting in a single case study. If the study was implemented again, the study sample would be increased so that the results are more generalizable. Another study impediment is that self-reported data has several limitations, including reporting and recall biases such as the subject forgetting their behaviors. They may also over-report or under-report specific characteristics or behaviors depending on individual perceived social desirability. Additionally, if this were an actual client, the follow-up would include social support and professional support to help the individual sustains the weight loss program. If the behavior deteriorated, other interventions would consist of dietary modifications to ensure they do not consume foods that are likely to cause weight increases. In my opinion, persons who seek to lose weight should have excellent self–regulation capabilities and high autonomous regulation so that they can make their own choices and believe in the value of the activities they pursue to attain their weight loss goals. Future studies will involve using a longer duration of exercise for more weight loss.
References
Brindal, E., Hendrie, G. A., Freyne, J., & Noakes, M. (2019). A mobile phone app designed to support weight loss maintenance and well-being (MotiMate): Randomized controlled trial. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 7(9), e12882. https://doi.org/10.2196/12882
CDC. (2015, May 15). Physical activity for a healthy weight. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/physical_activity/index.html
Cheatham, S. W., Stull, K. R., Fantigrassi, M., & Motel, I. (2018). The efficacy of wearable activity tracking technology as part of a weight loss program: a systematic review Scott W. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 58(4), 534-548. DOI: 10.23736/S0022-4707.17.07437-0
Compernolle, S., DeSmet, A., Poppe, L., Crombez, G., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., Cardon, G., Van der Ploeg, H. P., & Van Dyck, D. (2019). undefined. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-019-0824-3
Cox, C. E. (2017). Role of physical activity for weight loss and weight maintenance. Diabetes Spectrum, 30(3), 157-160. https://doi.org/10.2337/ds17-0013
Interventioncentral. (n.d.). How to: Teach students to change behaviors through self-monitoring. Intervention Central. https://www.interventioncentral.org/self_management_self_monitoring
Philippou, A., Chryssanthopοulos, C., Maridaki, M., & Koutsilieris, M. (2019). The role of exercise in obesity. Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews, 13(5), 2861-2862. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsx.2019.07.061
Westerterp, K. R. (2019). Exercise for weight loss. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 110(3), 540-541. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqz070