Violence against women has been an invisible epidemic pretty much forever. Even when we moved past “She must have provoked him” and “It takes two to make a fight” it still happens every day, across all classes. One quarter–25%–of all women will experience domestic violence.

So why do researchers focus on football players and soldiers when looking at the affects of repeated concussion? Most likely because these huge numbers of women are hidden. Women rarely talk about the violence perpetrated against them, for reasons of embarrassment but also of fear.

72% of all murder-suicides involve an intimate partner; 94% of the victims of these murder suicides are female.

Fear for their children. Fear for family members. Fear for themselves.

In 2017, 2,237 people were murdered by their intimate partners–a number that has been on the rise in recent years. Those murders didn’t just come out of left field–they generally come after violence and abuse and attempts by the victim to escape.

But because we don’t talk about these victims, because they are hidden in plain sight, researchers don’t even consider adding women to their research studies, even if their history of abuse has affected their health, income, and ability to work.

I have no answers or solutions, just a reminder that violence against women remains a problem in our society and our world. By forgetting about it, by allowing it to remain hidden, by allowing those who have been abused to feel shame and guilt and fear, we allow it to continue, and we fail to help those who have suffered not just the immediate bruises and broken bones and fear, but the long term affects of fear and trauma.

Research into athletes should continue, because they are the most obvious sufferers of repeated concussion, but researchers need to remember that their pool of candidates is far larger, and those who have suffered violence often don’t have the resources to help them deal with the long-term affects.

CTE Researchers Should Study Domestic Violence Survivors

National Statistics Domestic Violence Fact Sheet

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/12/us/domestic-violence-victims.html

Patrick Stewart: the legacy of domestic violence

As I noted on the book roundup, I’ve been listening to podcasts rather than audio books recently, so I thought I’d give y’all a round up of what I’ve been enjoying.

First up is Make Me Smart with Kai & Molly. Because I love listening to Kai’s voice, and the repartee between Kai and Molly is wonderful. Especially when Molly utterly geeks out.

Also, the episode What. The. Fed. opens with Kai cussing, and it is delightful.

But what you really want is CRISPR for Beginners. For work a wrote a piece on ethics and gene-editing, because this is something we need to consider NOW.

Next up is Planet Money, which I listened to right after it started (and even have the T-shirt!)

What I especially like about Planet Money is that I had NO (zero, none, zip, zilch) classes in economics and finance through all my many years of school. Planet Money doesn’t assume you know anything about economics AND it has really interesting stories.

You should check out this short episode on the Indicator, The Private Firefighter Industry . I recently read a book that was set during the time public fire companies were first being set up in London, and I find it disconcerting that we might be returning to a time when only those with money can afford real protection.

Another podcast I’m adoring is Smart Podcast, Trashy Books, which is (unsurprisingly) the podcast for Smart Bitches Trashy Books. Yes, the focus is romance books, but they can talk about so much more here, and I recommend to every woman a recent episode: Burnout – A Feminist Book about Stress: An Interview with Emily and Amelia Nagoski

If you like science, I highly recommend This Podcast Will Kill You. They recently did a two-parter on vaccines that I HIGHLY recommend.

They also talk a fair amount about epidemiology, which is a highly underrated science. (Correlation is not causation!) Thanks to Mary for pointing this one out to me.

So have you been enjoying any interesting podcasts?

Yesterday on our hike I started to wonder about apples. Specifically: Why are apples typically portrayed as red?

The majority of apples we find at our Farmers Market are green or green & red. Yet when you think of an apple, you generally think of a shiny red apple. Why?

Considering that the most common red apple is the misnamed Red Delicious, which was bred not for flavor but looks and storage, it’s amazing that anyone would want to think about Red Delicious when they think “apple”.

Vaguely from my plant biology classes, I remembered that color was often dependent upon light. So might where apples were red be related to why red is seen as the color of apples? Were red apples more common in Europe?

But it’s even more complicated than that.

Apples do not breed true from seed. If you plant apple seeds you will not get an apple tree that bears the fruit of the apple you planted, most likely you’ll get a cider apple (which is what Johnny Appleseed was doing–planting seeds for cider apples, not the fruit).

You have to graft to get a reproducible apple variety.  So what grows in an area is dependent not just upon hardiness, but what humans have chosen to grow in any particular area.

Out of curiosity, I decided to look up what influences peel color in apples, and although light is important, temperature is also important, and colder temperatures increase anthocyanin production. Which makes sense in retrospect, since anthocyanis are protective. So you’ll get red apples where there is a lot of sun, but also where there are colder temperatures.

So red apples would seemingly be more likely to thrive in areas with harsher conditions (more UV or lower temperatures).

It still doesn’t make Red Delicious apples taste better, but it does help explain why we might have developed a preference for red apples.

(FWIW our other indepth discussion yesterday was use of silver to kill paranormal creatures and what kind of ammunition would be best (and easiest) to defend yourself. So don’t think that I spend my time pondering highfalutin topics.)

Red Color Development in Apple Fruit
Traverso, Amy. The Apple Lover’s Cookbook. W. W. Norton & Company.

Someone on FB linked to an article about the medical management of mental health disorders: What It’s Like to Know You’ll Be on Antidepressants for Life.

The essay starts out noting the following:

The notion that people who take medication for mental illness are weak seems rooted in internalized social stigma. There’s still this strange divide in thinking about mental illness, where much of society seems to dismiss those illnesses as somehow less “real” than ones that are considered “physical.”

That’s unfair, yet true. We’re not supposed to talk about mental health issues. It’s ok to have diabetes or high blood pressure but depression or anxiety are secrets to be kept. Issues to be hidden.

To believe that my mental health issues make me a weaker person than someone who has a physical health issue is absurd. Yet it’s a common belief: depression and anxiety are weakness that can just be overcome by hard work and the correct attitude.

Part of it I suppose is historical: Suicide was a mortal sin that would send you directly to hell, so wouldn’t that make the mental state that made you suicidal a moral failing as well?

Part of it might also have to do with many mental health issues being more common in women than men, and women have historically been seen as weaker, both physically and mentally.

But perhaps a greater part is because mental health issues are less visible. You get a cast with a broken limb. You get scars from surgery. I can show someone my scars and X-Rays from my broken ankle, but what do I have to display for more than 30 years of mental health issues?

(Life insurance rates three times higher than my husband’s because I was honest during my interview about my past aren’t really anything you can display as a wound.)

After Robin Williams died, I remember being enraged by people who couldn’t understand how he could be so weak as to take his own life.

Weak?

When I broke my ankle I didn’t cry–I wasn’t even certain at first I’d broken my ankle, because I was certain it wasn’t painful enough to be broken bones. Yet I have felt emotional pain that was so harsh it took my breath away. A misery so strong that all I wanted was for it to end because it was unbearable.

I knew I could take medicines for relief from physical pain, and that over time the wounds would heal and the pain would eventually be gone.

Mental anguish is different. When you’re given anti-depressants, you’re told they might take up to a month to work. And that some meds are better for some people than for others so what you’re taking might not make things better. And again it’ll be a month before you know for certain.

Know what? I’ve had meds that not only didn’t work, but actually made things worse. That took more than two months to resolve.

Two months of something that no one could see. Two months of something I was certain was a moral failing: A weakness on my part.

A weakness.

During pre-marriage counseling, one of the questions we were asked was whether we suffered from mental illness.

“Yes,” I said, “depression.” (At this time I hadn’t yet been diagnosed with anxiety or OCD, even though they had been part of the mix since the beginning.)

“Not like that,” the counselor replied, “they’re asking about serious illness.”

Here’s the thing: I’m lucky in that I’ve always been able to work through my depressive episodes. It may have been a struggle, but I was able to get out of bed and be physically, if not emotionally, present.

I know I will be on meds for the rest of my life. I’m fine with that, because I have a strange quirk where I remember feelings painfully clearly. I remember the angst of being a teenager. I remember the shame of being different and unable to fit in. I remember breathtaking misery of grief. I remember the feelings of all my mistakes and the belief I would never get past them. I remember how it feels to believe I was worthless. That I was unworthy of love. That all I ever have done is cause harm and create misery.

I don’t want to live with that agony in the here and now, so I’m glad to take meds.

My primary fear is not being able to recognize if the meds start to fail and I begin to slip backwards into the abyss.

My secondary fear is of failing to recognize someone else who is suffering. Of missing the person who thinks they are the only one who feels they way they do: lost and broken and unworthy.

Which is why I share things like this. Because we aren’t alone. These things aren’t moral weaknesses or failures. They’re just physiology, and even if it takes a while, these things can usually be fixed.

Because these issues might be permanent but they don’t have to control me.

Because we are more than our illnesses and because we can live through them and be happy.

In 1952 and 1969 and at least 11 other times, the Cuyahoga along Cleveland Ohio caught fire. (Ohio History Central) (Washington Post)

Let’s take a look at something that’s a little more personal–the water quality of the Monongahela River, which runs past Morgantown and is the source of my water. The Mon River also has had a long history of pollution, especially from acid mine drainage.

The Monongahela River watershed was considered to be one of the region’s most intensely polluted by acid mine drainage in the United States until about 1970. (USACE)

Look at the change in pollution from 1974 (1) to 2000.

(WVU Extension Service)

See also: (1964 Department of the Interior Report) (Morgantown Utility Board 2015 CCR)

Access to clean water is not a problem for 3rd world countries, it is a problem in many areas of West Virginia (and elsewhere in Appalachia). (Inside Appalachia)

Clean water is something many take for granted nowadays, but this is something that has come about through regulation and work. It does not come through the actions of private industries who don’t give a shit about those living downstream.

(1) The Clean Water Act was implemented in 1972, so this sampling is from two years after that.

In 1952, England had a Great Smog that killed at least 4000 people (History.com) (The Guardian), although the history of killer smog in London dates back to the 1800s. (Guardian)

In 1966, at least 50 people were killed by a smog that covered the city of NY over Thanksgiving weekend. (Business Insider) (US Dept of Health, Education and Welfare Report from 1966)

In 1948, smog killed at least 20 people in Donora PA (a town south of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River, north of Morgantown). (History.com) (Pittsburgh Post Gazette) (NPR)

Current smog in the western US comes from uncontrolled emissions from China (Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics), and it’s possible that one third of deaths in China come from smog. (Business Insider)

Why do we need the EPA?

Because industry will not regulate itself. Because without regulation people die.

I have several bathrobes, which I wear all the time.

This is partially because I like bathrobes (I have three–a heavy terrycloth robe for winter, and two waffle cotton robes for summer) and partially because we shower in the basement, and it’s a trek to make in the winter.

The softest robe has been causing problems for the past couple months–the overlap has been getting smaller and smaller, and it’s a bit to small to contain… me.

This, of course, made me feel badly about myself.

Until I realized that the loops for the tie were no longer at my waist, but are now just underneath my armpits.

The damned thing has been slowly shrinking, but I was convinced that the change was in me.

Nevermind that all my other clothes fit fine, and I’m still wearing the smaller jeans (I have jeans in two sizes; 10 and 12. I’ve been wearing the 10s) but I was somehow convinced that I was getting bigger.

Brains are stupid.

Also, I’m totally getting another robe to replace this one.

Another quick reminder of what I’ve been testing:

Accupedo
Garmin Vivofit
FitBit One
Omron HJ-323U

The Devices
The Software

Now for my FAVORITE PART! DATA!

I tracked the output of the various devices for three weeks, noting steps, kcal, and miles at various points of the day, including immediately before and after exercise or hiking.

Here’s what I found.

Steps

As I’d found previously, the FitBit overcounts steps. Accupedo and the Omron are generally pretty close to each other, and typically had lower step counts than the VivoFit and the One.

HOWEVER.

On days when I was doing things like cleaning house or baking, the VivoFit had a much higher count than any other device. (I also threw out the Accupedo data on several of these days, because I didn’t have the phone in my pocket for several hours.)

I’m not terribly distressed that the VivoFit had a higher step count on days when I was baking or cleaning, because I’m active during those times, just not moving from one place to another.

Calories Burned

Not only does the FitBit overcount steps, but it also generally overcounted how many calories I burned during the day.

Here you can see that during periods of exercise, the FitBit gave me a far higher calorie burn than any other device–including the Garmin Fit, which should also have been taking elevation and pace into account. (Note that for walks, the Omron and Garmin Fit had very close calorie burns, but for hikes (where we were in steeper terrain) the Garmin Fit gave a much higher calorie burn than the Omron. I believe the Garmin Fit data should which should be fairly correct, although I know that using the heart rate monitor would make it more accurate. But I find it uncomfortable, so you don’t get that data because I am unwilling to suffer that much for data.)

Putting that together, we can see how calorie burn and steps tracked for my lunchtime walks.

The step counts are all relatively close during these time periods, but the FitBit in general gave me a much greater calorie burn (I’m not sure what happened on that final Thursday–I’m guessing operator error in noting the counts.)

Yes, I do walk up and down stairs during my lunch walks, but I don’t think that’s enough to account for the FitBit calorie burn being that much higher.

Mileage

And finally, because I can’t help myself, I compared the mileage calculated by the pedometers as opposed to the distance given by the GPS for outdoor walks and hikes.

GPS readings were from the Garmin Fit, which tracks mileage using my phone, and my Garmin Oregon GPS. I’ll note that the Oregon GPS does tend to give me a slightly shorter reading than is probably true, simply because I meander. So fractally, the distance I walk is probably longer than the distance calculated by the GPS, but not by a large amount.

Also interesting, the Vivofit seems to underestimate distance when I’m hiking and walking, as compared to other devices, but not consistently so, which could be due both to the terrain, and to how frequently I stop to take pictures when I hike.

And to be fair, hiking is quite different from walking, since one’s stride is generally not consistent.

So there you have it: The FitBit continues to overcount steps and overestimate calories burned, but the interface and community are so much nicer than any other device, it’s still my current favorite.

If you do outdoors activity, the Garmin Fit app is very nice, and I can definitely recommend it.

And if you don’t want to carry around an additional device, the Accupedo app is a very good alternative to a separate pedometer (assuming you can correctly calculate the sensitivity).

Previous Pedometer Geekiness:
2014
2013

Because everything is connected now, the screen interface between you and your data is important, so it gets an entire post.

Again, here are this year’s contenders:

Accupedo
Garmin Vivofit
FitBit One
Omron HJ-323U

The Devices

Also tested:

Sense Me
Garmin Fit

Here are the various interfaces.

Accupedo

This is a phone app, so no website.

I like the Accupedo interface. It puts what I want to see right there, cleanly and clearly.

And I also like the widget, which comes in three different sizes.

Note that Accupedo is the only widget on my phone. That’s because the FitBit widget comes in one size–too large–and none of the others have widgets.

FitBit

Here is the FitBit website Dashboard. It’s fine. It displays everything I want to see at a glance.

This is the FitBit app. Everything is there in a single glance, and the colors change the closer you get to your goal. I also like this app.

Garmin Connect

Here is the Garmin Connect website, with the Vivofit panels.

I find this website frustrating. The panels never seem to stay where I want them–probably because I have different computers with different monitor sizes, and the panels shift around. The steps panel itself is fine–if only it would stay where I put it.

The Garmin Connect app I like better. It displays the same information as the website, and in the same manner, but it shows me what I want to see as soon as I launch it. No hunting to find the right panel.

The Garmin Connect website is ALSO where you view the Garmin Fit app data, (as well as where I view the data from my Garmin watch. (Which I do NOT love, because the buttons are non-responsive, so it’s nearly impossible to start activities and connect the foot-pod and heart monitor. But that’s something else entirely.))

Garmin Fit uses the GPS to calculate the distance, pace, elevation, and calories burned. It does NOT work inside, so this is no good for a pedometer, but it is VERY nice for hiking.

Same panels (and the same issue with the panels) but I do love the little map of my latest activity.

Here’s the app:

I like the display here as well, although it seems like I have to jump through one too many hoops to start an activity.

Omron Wellness Site

The Omron Wellness site is the new site where your data is uploaded.

I’ll be blunt. I am having major issues with the Omron Wellness site. It says it’s uploaded my data, but as you can see, my recent data is not there. I’m emailing with tech support, but I must say I really miss the old Omron software where everything lived on my computer.

I’ll update you as to how things go. Since they just rolled out the new site, I’m willing to cut them a little slack–but not much, and not for long. This is the only way I can view all my data (besides on the pedometer itself), and it’s not working.

SenseMe Pedometer App

There is no screen where I can get an overview of all my data at once. There is no widget. Plus, it’s inaccurate. Goodbye.

Yup, it’s that time again, where I get ahold of multiple pedometers AND TEST THEM TO WITHIN AN INCH OF THEIR TRI-AXES.

Or something like that.

Here are this round’s contenders.

Accupedo
FitBit One
Garmin Vivofit
Omron HJ-323U

Accupedo

Accupedo is solely a phone app, so its size is your cell phone.

Accupedo tracks steps, kcal burned, miles walked, and active minutes. The feature that makes Accupedo so good is that it has a sensitivity setting. At the base setting, I found it was over-counting steps (dramatically so), but decreasing the sensitivity made is very accurate (when compared to the other devices).

The calorie tracking is only for activities. If you do nothing all day (or leave your phone sitting on a table) your kcal count will be zero. This makes it difficult to compare it directly to the FitBit and the VivoFit, since both of those calculate your calorie use on top of your resting rate.

FitBit One

The FitBit one tracks steps, elevation, kcal burned, miles walked, and active minutes. The elevation is one of my favorite things it tracks, because I live in the land of hills, and I always take the stairs.

It’s small, and even if the silicone case fits easily in that little tiny pocket of your jeans, which is where I keep mine (which reduces the amount of incidental abuse it takes.)

It syncs over bluetooth with your phone, or over a dongle you plug into the USB port of your computer. I quite like that you have two different options for syncing, since I don’t generally leave my phone’s bluetooth on.

The One is a rechargeable device that you slip into an odd little USB dongle you plug into the USB slot of your computer. This dongle does not sync–it just charges, which seems like a waste to me, but what do I know?

The One is supposedly water resistant. I haven’t gotten this one particularly wet, however, this is my second One. The first One was accidentally put through the washer by Michael when I was sick (he was being helpful, so I can’t really blame him for not checking my pockets). It didn’t recover from the experience.

The silicone clip is quite sturdy, and I’ve clipped it onto the waistbands of skirts with no ill effect.

Garmin Vivofit

The Vivofit is a wristband fitness tracker that I got when Michael decided he really didn’t care for it. (He now has a FitBit One.)

The VivoFit tracks steps, kcal and miles and activity.

Although there is a website, the device syncs only through your phone’s bluetooth, and only when you tell it to sync. The later is nice, because it saves the battery. Instead of being rechargable it uses a watch battery. I bought the VivoFit for Michael at the end of October, and we haven’t had to change the battery yet, so it’s got a pretty decent life for what it does.

It is water resistant, and I’ve repeatedly splashed water on it, and no ill signs yet.

It displays the time, just like a watch, although to reserve the battery you can’t read it in low light. I consider that a feature, not a bug.

I find myself strangely pleased with the VivoFit, probably because I always wear a watch, so this does double duty. (I’ll note that I am VERY hard on watches, and regularly destroy them. So we’ll see how much abuse this can take.)

Omron HJ-323U

The Omron Activa is the third Omron pedometer I’ve had, and it is unfortunately my least favorite.

On the plus side, it’s smaller than previous Omron pedometers, and is built upon a USB stick, so to upload your data, you just remove the cap and plug it into a USB port on your computer. It’s also extremely accurate (assuming it’s in my pocket and not just dropped down the front of my bra, where it does not, in fact, count very accurately).

On the negative side, I don’t trust the clip, so I don’t wear it if I’m not wearing something with pockets, and I utterly despise the current software that comes with it. As in–the software doesn’t work for me and this makes me very unhappy.

It runs off a watch battery, and the battery lasts quite awhile, so no complaints there.

But as I said, the software is currently abysmal and non-functional for me. And although the design is smaller than previous versions, I don’t particularly trust the clip, so unless I have pockets, I don’t wear it. (If you are female, you understand that this happens quite frequently since women’s clothes are STUPID.)

So design-wise, I like the VivoFit and the FitBit One, as I find both unobtrusive.

After we met up with Mechanicky Gal and Carol Elaine, we got to go to THE LA BREA TAR PITS!

Where we saw… FOSSILS!

BISON!

Why hello there!

American Lion!

SABER-TOOTH!

MAMMOTH!

Ground. Sloth.

DIRE WOLF!

OK. Maybe dire wolves weren’t so smart.

Coyote! Raptor! And some sort of prey!

MAMMOTH TOE!

SO ADORABLE! (Well, perhaps not adorable.)

It was MARVELOUS! And I was VERY EXCITED TO SEE IT!

Carol Elaine generously offered to give us a tour of JPL. (Sadly, it was a holiday of some sort, so I was unable to purchase post cards. You can’t imagine how much pain this caused me.)

I only had my cell phone, so most of my pictures were shit, but here are a few nice ones.

Here’s my favorite thing!

This was a light show that showed you the communication between different satellites and ground control. It was a brilliant way to show the flow of information.

The lights going down the strand represent data coming from a satellite. The lights going up the strands represent data going to the satellite.

Some satellites have very little data transmission right now.

It was a genius learning tool, but also very pretty to watch.

The text that’s hard to read says:
The Habitable Zone: 00001
Confirmed: 01743
Candidates: 03276

HI!

This absolutely delighted me, though I have fears it was a set up, and not just the result of some random argument.

Take THAT Neil deGrasse Tyson!

Now! (drum roll of wooden pencils on a desktop) the uber geeky results!

Previously:
Pedometer Testing: Round II – Revenge of the Pedometers
Pedometer Testing: Data Tracking
Issues with the Withings Pulse & Elevation: Part I: Dissed by the Pulse, Part II: Withings Pulse Doesn’t Track Elevation for Crap and Part III: THIS IS NOT HOW MATH WORKS

First, the pedometers:
Omron HJ-720
Withings Pulse
FitBit Ultra
Omron HJ-323
FitBit One
Accupedo
Noom Walk

Essentially, if a pedometer gave me a measurement, I tracked it, and compared it to other pedometers that measured the same thing.

All pedometers measured step count (of course). I knew from previous testing that the FitBit Ultra over-counted steps, and that held true this time. The FitBit One, however, seemed far more accurate, or at least closer to the average.

To see how different activities affected step count, I noted the step count at various points in the day. I then averaged those measurements, and plotted how far each pedometer was from the average for that time period. (I did this for every day, but I chose Thursday to show here, because it was easy to read, while being a good representative of what I saw over the course of the testing.

Here is a look at how each pedometer differed from the average over the entire 11 day course.

Even those these measurements are against the average for each time period, you can see that the FitBit Ultra gets more and more inaccurate as the day progresses. My observation is that it over-counts when I am at rest, as I tend to doing most of my running around in the morning, and stick closer to my desk in the afternoon (and in the evening, plop my butt on the couch).

The Noom Walk step count was quite off from the average–it was always higher than another other pedometer, so I didn’t count those steps when calculating the average, although I did add it to the Thursday chart, so you can see how far off the average it was.

This chart is showing how each pedometer performed over the entire time period as compared to the average.

The first section shows whether the step count for each pedometer for 11 days was over or under the average. The next section is the minimum–the most each pedometer under-counted. The third section is the maximum–the most that each pedometer over-counted. You can see that the Ultra and the Noom had the highest over-counts.

That chart is essentially showing you both consistency and accuracy. (The Ultra consistently over-counts. The Omrons consistently under-count.

Most converted your step count into miles (the Noom Walk didn’t).

I compared the pedometers against each other (I took the average mileage (throwing out the Noom, which was an obvious outlier) and saw how each pedometer did compared to the average.

Don’t hold that 3/15 data against the pedometers. We took a bike ride that day, and pedometers don’t do well with bike rides (unless you tie the pedometer to your shoe, which I was not willing to do).

I also compared mileage over a period of hours with the mileage generated by my GPS.

In this case, the pedometers which gave a slightly higher mileage are probably closer to true, because as anyone who has every walked with me can attest, I wander all over the path/sidewalk.

Only the Omron pedometers counted aerobic steps. For the Omron, aerobic steps are when you have been walking for ten minutes without stopping.

The Omron HJ-720, Withings Pulse, FitBit Ultra, FitBit One, and Accupedo all gave measures of Active / Aerobic time. These were all slightly different, and FitBit and Withings both gave you measure of different levels of activity.

I used only Very Active and Intense Activity for my comparison data. Because there are different activity levels and measurements, the different pedometers had very different measures, although they all seemed to be consistent within themselves.

To be honest, I don’t pay a lot of attention to Active Time. I’m measuring activities I’d be doing anyway. I’m not looking to break any records or train harder.

Calorie count was very interesting.

First and foremost, FitBit gives you your total calorie output, including the calories you expend just because you’re breathing and your heart as beating. To get a comparable measurement, I arbitrarily decided FitBit was giving me a BMR (basal metabolic rate) of 1600, and subtracted that from the daily totals.

The results were… odd.

The FitBit One and Accupedo were closest to average, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the most accurate. Just that they were similar. Why were the Pulse and the Ultra so high? I would guess part is because the Ultra consistently has a higher step count than any other pedometer.

If you’ve been reading along, you’ve seen that I have some serious issues with the Withings elevation count.

As in, it doesn’t seem to be reality based, or even based on any math system with which I’m familiar.

I figured the best comparison would be to take what the pedometers gave me over a set period of time (when I was walking outside) and compare that to what the GPS gave me.

Because the Withings data was so cracked out, I chose the elevation counts generated by the website, because they seemed to be the closest to reality. But as you can see, that didn’t make them very accurate.

The 3/21 data was a walk into town and back. The 3/22 data was from a 4 3/4 mile hike at Coopers Rock.

I fully expected the GPS to have a higher elevation gain than the pedometers, because it counts all elevation, even slight rises that aren’t really noticeable when you’re walking (such as walking up High Street). I was surprised at how close the FitBits were to the GPS readings for our hike at Coopers Rock. Perhaps the steep terrain made them more accurate.

So what does all this mean in the long run?

From a practical point, I’m going to use the FitBit One, so I can monitor whether I’m getting enough exercise to justify eating dessert. I’m also going to keep the Accupedo app, because it’s surprisingly accurate. And for now, I’m going to keep wearing the Omron HJ-323, but I’m not sure if I’ll keep wearing it.

I hope you found that useful, and if you have any questions, I’ll be delighted to answer them. I can also share my raw data if you’d like to see if you trust my manipulations.

But I fully admit that I did this solely because I am a tremendous dork and love doing weirdo things like this.

I wore five pedometers and tested two pedometer apps.

Yes, I really am that much of a dork.

The five pedometers were:

Omron HJ-720
Withings Pulse
FitBit Ultra
Omron HJ-323
FitBit One

I discussed four of the five in an earlier post, so I’ll only talk about the FitBit One in this post.

The two pedometer apps were:

Accupedo
Noom Walk

I hadn’t used a pedometer app before, but quite liked one of the two I tried.

First up, the FitBit One. (For perspective on the size of the FitBit Ultra, please see this post.)

Here’s what you get:

Front view, including wireless dongle, and charging dongle:

Back view, with same as above:

The two shiny bits are where the One matches with the charging dongle to charge.

Unlike the Ultra, the FitBit One is a single piece, so the device shouldn’t chip the way the Ultra did. It is also supposed to be water resistant (not water proof). We shall see about that as well.

The protective case/belt clip is silicone, with embedded metal bits. I have concerns about the silicone case tearing (this happened with the silicone case of the pulse) so I’m going to try to avoid removing it from the case except to charge it.

Here is how the FitBit One (in its silicone case) compares in size to the FitBit Ultra:

They’re basically the same size; not at all bulky.

It also comes with a wristband for slipping the One into while you sleep. As I always wear long sleeve sleep shirts, I can just clip the One onto the hem of my sleeve for the same thing. I can also clip it into the old wristband for the Ultra. This saves me from having to pull the thing out of the silicone case every day.

The FitBit one fits perfectly into the little square pocket in your jeans, so that’s where I’ve been keeping mine. It’s unlikely to fall out there, and it’s protected from the other things in my pocket (currently, that would be four other pedometers, though I also carry a multi-tool for work).

You can sync the FitBit One in two different ways: via the tiny dongle that fits into your USB port, or via Bluetooth on your phone.

The old charging stations don’t work. Bluetooth on a computer doesn’t work. But, if you have a bluetooth phone, it’s easy to turn on the Bluetooth, open the FitBit app to sync and then turn the Bluetooth back off. It syncs smoothly and quickly, and I didn’t run into a single transfer hitch the entire time I’ve been using it.

The bad thing is I only have three USB ports on my laptop, and one of those ports already holds the USB dongle for my wireless mouse. Yeah, not a huge issue, but if you’re short USB slots on a laptop, you might want to make sure the Bluetooth works with your phone.

In summary, the FitBit One has been a surprising pleasure to use. The site is exactly the same as for the Ultra, so no surprise there. But the app has been updated and gives you relevant data at a glance.

As I said before, I’d never installed a pedometer app previous, mostly because I didn’t know they existed. I knew programs like Runkeeper etc existed, but they generally use GPS, do don’t work for indoor walking, of which I do a lot.

The Noom Walk is very bare bones, and (as you’ll see later when I look at the data) not particularly accurate.

It really wants you to socialize, and I really had no interest in doing so, I didn’t much go into the app. You see there’s also a huge push to get you to use the other apps.

No thanks, I’ll be deleting Noom Walk as soon as I finish up these reviews.

Both the Noom Walk and Accupedo had widgets, which is how I checked my step counts. The Noom Walk displays only step counts.

The Accupedo has several widgets of different sizes. This is the 4×1 widget that displays step count, mileage, kcal burned and active time.

The Accupedo, on the other hand, was surprisingly wonderful.

It has a number of inputs to personalize your profile, including height, weight, age, stride length, and number of consecutive steps before it starts counting.

It ALSO (most importantly) has a setting to decrease or increase the sensitivity. I discovered that I needed to reduce the sensitivity, but when I did, the accuracy was very close to what the other pedometers were giving me.

There is a start time, end time, and pause option. This allows you to turn off the pedometer at night, and also when you’re doing activities where you aren’t walking, such as riding in a car.

You can also have it notify you when you’re reached your daily step goal.

I currently have the free version, but think I might splurge for the “pro” version, because I really like the app, and like to support people who create things I like.

So those are the contenders. Next up, results.