America Walks: An Observational Study of Walking Behavior Based on Passive Step Tracking

This will be the first study to measure walking activity using mobile phones. It is well known that physical activity can promote well-being and help prevent several chronic diseases. It is recommended that an individual should do moderate to vigorous walking for 30 minutes or walk approximately 10,000 steps everyday. Several studies have reported measuring walking activity using self-reported surveys, or pedometers in samples ranging from a dozen to a couple of thousand participants. However these studies have largely required participants to enter their walking data manually, either from memory or from pedometer recordings.

With the rapid availability of activity sensors embedded in smart-phones (such as Apple's iPhone version 5S and up and several Google's Android phone models), it is now possible to track physical activity data passively from the end-user and do so for longer durations as individuals have increasingly begun to use their Phones as a continuous device of use.

Inclusion criteria

• Be at-least 18 years old (self -reported)
• Must reside in the United States (50 states and the District of Columbia); this will be self reported by the participant by entering a zip code which will be checked for valid US zip codes.

Exclusion criteria

• Does not have a device that supports Apple HealthKit (iPhone 5s or above) or doesn't not have an Android phone with step count sensors