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Instrumental monitors, 
such as pedometers and accelerometers, 
provide more objective assessments of physical activity and are being 
used with increasing frequency. Pedometers and accelerometers, about 
the size of a watch, usually are attached at hip level to a belt or other 
article of clothing. Participants are instructed to wear them during wak-
ing hours for several days, often a week, except when bathing or swim-
ming. Pedometers detect the vertical force associated with each step, 
and the output (number of steps taken) is reasonably straightforward. 
Accelerometers are more complex. They record the force of movements 
in up to three directions, and as they have become more sophisticated, 
require more complicated software to download and process the raw 
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Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
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