Researchers at The University
of Auckland’s Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences are investigating
the use of global positioning system (GPS) technology to help fight the
obesity epidemic.
Dr Ralph Maddison of the faculty‘s Clinical Trials Research Unit
is leading a project that will use GPS monitors to measure activity levels
in people and needs volunteers to take part in the study.
GPS is a worldwide radio navigation system, formed through a network
of satellites. The technology can both calculate the position, and track
the movement of any object or person carrying a GPS receiver.
The volunteers will wear a GPS monitor, in the form of a wristwatch
and also be fitted with a heart rate monitor and accelerometer for two
weeks. This will allow Dr Maddison and his team to measure their energy
expenditure over that period.
“ Obesity is caused by an imbalance between physical activity
(or exercise) and food intake, so having an accurate picture of a person’s
daily activity levels is key to developing effective obesity intervention
programmes. If we can measure how much activity a person does and the
energy they burn in a day we can then make suggestions on how to improve
on that. Even small increases in activity can make a difference.”
Dr Maddison says the GPS monitors, combined with a heart rate monitor,
will provide a more accurate measure of activity than many other options,
such as self-report measures or pedometers.
“ And while there are other ways to measure energy expenditure
accurately, these are very expensive and time consuming, whereas GPS
monitors could be a much cheaper alternative.”
The study is being carried in collaboration with researchers at the
Ellison Institute at Harvard University, who have an interest in novel
effective measures of population health.
Dr Maddison needs 50 volunteers for the project. They need to be over
18 years old and live in Auckland.
“ We want to get a range of people with different activity
levels ranging from sedentary to very active,” he said.
People wishing to take part in the study should contact Ralph Maddison
at the Clinical Trials Research Unit, telephone 3737599, extn 84767.
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