ArticleBMC research notes2013
Epoch length and the physical activity bout analysis: an accelerometry research issue.
Article in BMC research notes, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 72 citations in OpenAlex.
- Synthesis and Validity of Accelerometer Devices and Methods Used in Epidemiological Studies of Physical Activity Bout Duration and Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review.Sports medicine - open · 2026Pooled it
- The association between accelerometer-measured physical activity and symptoms of depression and anxiety in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pediatrics · 2025Pooled it
- Contextualising Physical Activity Levels in Patients With Anorexia Nervosa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.European eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association · 2025Pooled it
- Subjective versus Objective Measure of Physical Activity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Convergent Validity of the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C).International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Exercise for Weight Loss: Further Evaluating Energy Compensation with Exercise.Medicine and science in sports and exercise · 2020Trial
- Inducing incentive sensitization of exercise reinforcement among adults who do not regularly exercise-A randomized controlled trial.PloS one · 2019Trial
- Feasibility of Privacy-Preserving LiDAR-Based Continuous Gait and Activity Monitoring in Three People with Multiple Sclerosis: A Technical Proof-of-Concept Case Study.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Variability in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity assessment: Comparing tri-axial accelerometry cut-off points in children.Sports medicine and health science · 2026Article
- Using commercial-grade wearable devices to monitor rest/activity rhythms: promise, potential, or peril?Sleep · 2026Article
- A pilot study using actigraphy to examine activity performance and its relationship with activity capacity in adults with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.Journal of neuromuscular diseases · 2026Article
- Cleaning and pre-processing of actigraphy data for physical activity and sleep research: a scoping review.Physiological measurement · 2026Article
- Mentored multimodal prehabilitation for aortic aneurysm surgery: a pilot randomised controlled trial.Perioperative medicine (London, England) · 2025Article
- Device-measured and self-reported physical activity during the first two years postpartum in women with recent gestational diabetes: evidence from the LINDA-Brasil study.Archives of endocrinology and metabolism · 2025Article
- Daily Variability in Sedentary Behaviour and Physical Activity Responsiveness in Older Women.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- A standardised approach to quantifying activity in domestic dogs.Royal Society open science · 2024Article
- Cross-sectional associations between patterns and composition of upright and stepping events with physical function: insights from The Maastricht Study.European review of aging and physical activity : official journal of the European Group for Research into Elderly and Physical Activity · 2024Article
- Transforming Big Data into AI-ready data for nutrition and obesity research.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2024Review
- Optimizing Epoch Length and Activity Count Threshold Parameters in Accelerometry: Enhancing Upper Extremity Use Quantification in Cerebral Palsy.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Impact of varying accelerometer epoch length on physical activity patterns in adults: Considerations for public health.PloS one · 2024Article
- Calibrating Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior for Hip-Worn Accelerometry in Older Women With Two Epoch Lengths: The Women's Health Initiative Objective Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health Calibration Study.Journal for the measurement of physical behaviour · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe purpose of the present investigation was to compare the bouts of daily physical activity (PA) determined by three different accelerometer epoch lengths under free-living conditions.
methodsOne hundred thirty-four adults (50 ± 7 years) wore an accelerometer (Lifecorder) for 7 consecutive days under free-living conditions in order to determine the time spent in physical activity of light intensity (LPA), moderate intensity (MPA), vigorous intensity (VPA), moderate to vigorous intensity (MVPA), and the total physical activity (TPA; sum of LPA, MPA and VPA). Additionally, all PA was divided according to the bout durations (sporadic, > 3 min, > 5 min, and > 10 min). These indices of PA were analyzed using three different epoch lengths (4 sec, 20 sec and 60 sec) derived from the accelerometer.
resultsThe LPA significantly increased in association with increases in the epoch length (48.7 ± 15.9 to 178.7 ± 62.6 min/day, p < 0.05). The amount of sporadic VPA determined by the shortest epoch length (2.9 ± 5.2 min/day) was significantly longer than the two remaining epoch lengths (1.1 ± 2.4 to 0.9 ± 2.5 min/day, p < 0.05). The times of the MVPA bouts lasting longer than 3 minutes determined using the 4-second epoch length (2.6 ± 5.4 to 7.7 ± 10.0 min/day) were significantly shorter than those determined using the other two settings (6.5 ± 10.5 to 13.8 ± 13.8 min/day, p < 0.05). The frequencies of the MVPA bouts lasting longer than 10 minutes determined using the 4-second epoch length (0.2 ± 0.3 bouts/day) were significantly lower than those determined using the other two settings (0.3 ± 0.4 bouts/day, p < 0.05).
conclusionThe epoch length setting of the accelerometer affects the estimation of the PA bouts under free-living conditions in middle-aged to older adults.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.