Research
STEP Test Study
Sedentary behaviour is having a major impact on the health of the public. Insufficient participation in physical activity and low fitness is associated with an increased risk of disease in both adults and children. Fitness testing in large populations is difficult as it requires expensive equipment and is difficult for the volunteer. We have developed a simple 8-minute step test for estimating individual fitness that is easy to administer and uses less expensive equipment.
The purpose of this study is to test the accuracy of the step test and one other short exercise test (walk test) for the estimation of fitness against a standard method (treadmill). In addition, we wish to test the usefulness of a test for free-living physical activity for the estimation of fitness. The treadmill test is a physically demanding test, which requires walking, jogging and maybe some running on a treadmill. It is hoped that the Step Test will offer an alternative, simpler and cheaper test to the treadmill test.
