Using the proven and accepted method of ‘cut-points’ applied to the activity counts throughout the daytime, we are able to classify periods of sedentary, low, moderate or vigorous activity. The MotionWare software includes the day analysis functions to provide further insights into subject behaviour in addition to sleep and circadian rhythm analysis.

Day Analysis View

The main day analysis window provides an activity calendar view per week where the required day can be selected. The calendar view also provides an indication where the Vigorous and Moderate exercise targets have been met for the day.  A large single day activity graph is provided which can optionally be highlighted with periods of sedentary, moderate or vigorous activity. These graphical views provide a rapid insight into patterns of activity and behaviour over days, weeks or months.

A bar chart provides a simple colour coded overview of the amount of time spent within each activity category in addition to the statistics for the selected day. The Activity and analysis results data can be printed or exported to the clipboard or to a text file for external analysis if required.

Example Day Analysis View

Setting The Cut Points

The MotionWare software has default cut-points which may be individually edited to meet the requirements of your cohort. The cut points may be based upon published data, for example Landry et al. 2015 established a set of cut points for older adults which were subsequently adopted by Chakravarthy et al. 2017 in The reliability and validity testing of the MotionWatch in older adults.

For PA studies with children, Hsuan-Ping developed a set of cut points and concluded that the MotionWatch 8 ‘is a simple and objective instrument for measuring physical activity in children’.

It is also possible to apply an individual calibration by asking the subject to perform a 6 Minute Walk Test (6MWT) while wearing the MotionWatch. These data are then used by the software to automatically set the cut-points for the individual:

Weekly Summary

The MotionWare software provides a weekly summary for MVPA allowing trends and variations in daily activity to be observed and analysed. The example below shows a typical week for an office worker with increased physical activity and less sedentary time at the weekend. The data may be presented using the flexible in-built reporting functions for printing or saving to pdf. The data and results may also be exported in .txt or .csv file format or placed on the clipboard.