Measuring Physical Activity and sedentary behaviour in people with lower limb absence

Thursday 4th February - Introduction
So today I donned my activity monitor and went about my business, I now realise that I am going to get caught out if I don’t take my dog out for a proper daily walk! I would wear my polar loop and monitor my activity, but a small person wore it as a bracelet and it hasn’t been seen since. I was expecting this to be quite complicated, but you simply read the instruction, pop the monitor on and leave it for eight days. I’ve agreed to keep a personal daily record, which I am going to share on this blog in the hope that a few more people sign up for this excellent research. If you are interested in joining me, you can contact Sarah Deans on 0141 548 3929 or email sarah.deans@strath.ac.uk.

Friday 5th February - Sedentary or not sedentary
So it was quote a challenge having my daily bath while wearing the fitness monitor, but I managed it. Wearing the monitor has made me think about how little I do today compared to 15 year’s ago. To be honest this is more to do with living in the countryside, having children and driving everywhere than it has to do with being an amputee. Although I am sure that all three play a part. I used to walk to the tube everyday to get to work in London, go to the gym sporadically, but I did swim, walk everywhere and dance a lot, I don’t think me and Anna bed dancing to Blonde at 6.00 in the morning counts as exercise, although we did do our morning exercises today. Taking part in this research has also got me thinking about exercise versus food, not so much about how much I eat but more about what I eat. When I was younger and running with Ealing and Southall the boys were invited to be in a TV Programme called “You are what you eat”. I’ve never forgotten about this programme for two reasons, firstly the sexism involved as I really wanted to run and at 14 or 15 thought this was incredibly unfair and sexist and secondly, I found the subject matter really interesting. I personally think that what we eat and how much is the main cause of obesity. While I know exercise is important, controlling our food intake and quality is what is going to make a difference. Now where was that bar of chocolate...