About This Meeting

Assessment of physical activity using objective monitors has become increasingly accepted in surveillance, observational, and intervention research. Recent advances in the technology of wearable devices to assess physical activity permit researchers to assess body motion, physiological responses to physical activity, and environmental context over prolonged periods of time. However, consensus is lacking on standard methods of conducting research on activity monitor calibration and interpreting activity monitor data. For example, the use of different equations in the literature may result in varying intensity classifications for the same activity across studies. Many calibration studies use the same activity monitor but have vastly different results, making it impossible to draw valid conclusions. Moreover, the outcome measure most researchers use from activity monitors underutilizes the rich and diverse features of signals.

The Objective Measurement of Physical Activity Conference is organized around identifying the "whats" and "hows" of objectively monitoring physical activity:

• What are the strengths and weaknesses of currently available technology and analytic methods?
• What are the best practices for validating monitoring devices and methods and implementing objective monitoring in health and behavioral research?
• How can emerging technology and analytic methods overcome current limitations in objective monitoring (including multiple sensors and sensors collecting multiple variables)?
• How do we harmonize disparate methods for converting monitoring data into interpretable units?
• How can the measurement needs of health and behavioral research influence the development and adoption of the next generation