The Necessity of Motivation for Acquiring the Habit of Exercise by means of a Calorie Counter Combined with an Accelerometer

Abstract

The development of the habit of exercise is necessary for workers whose daily occupation prevents them from doing physical activities. However, few workers have acquired this habit of exercise. To motivate such workers, the validity of a calorie counter combined with an accelerometer (KENZ Calorie Counter or KENZ Calorie Counter α) was tested as a motivation tool for acquiring this habit. The subjects of this study were 14 volunteers. After 7 days' preliminary measurement of their physical activities by a calorie counter, they continued to measure the energy consumption of their physical activities over one month. Ten volunteers were able to continue the measurement, but 4 volunteers dropped out. The energy consumption of physical activities after one month measurement significantly (P < 0.001) increased to 70% more than that of the preliminary measurement. At the present time, nine volunteers are continuing to measure their daily energy consumption. The results suggest that the measurement of one's daily physical activities by a calorie counter is one of the best ways to develop the habit of exercise.