Dear Friends;
My daughter bought
me a pedometer fro Christmas. It is very sophisticated. After programming it for
length of stride and weight, it records how many steps you walked in a period of
time, the distance walked in miles or kilometers, the calories burned which
relates to how far you walked and how much you weigh, the time of day and it
even records how much of the day you were active and walking. It is a simple
little device that clips firmly to your belt and allows you to monitor and
record the activities of daily living when you are not a couch potato but are
active around your home, out in your garden, and walking outside. It can be very
good as a monitor of exercise on a daily basis, which is central to the
successful pulmonary rehabilitation program.
What the pedometer
does not tell you is probably even more important. What was the weather? Were
their sounds of birds chirping? Did the sunlight feel good on your face as you
walked along the beach? Did you feel better after walking? Did it stimulate your
appetite? How well did you sleep?
So the pedometer records performance and time
spent in activity but not the quality of the experience. What we really need is
a "qualometer". I don't know exactly how to design one but I can
imagine that it is all in the eye of the beholder.
I'll be in touch next month.
Your friend,
Thomas Petty, MD
