Hourly step recommendations to achieve daily goals for working and older adults

Background: The widespread use of physical activity trackers enables the collection of high-resolution health data, such as hourly step counts, to evaluate health promotion programmes. We investigate how participants meet their daily step goals. Methods: Using 24-h steps data from the National Steps Challenge Season 3 (NSC3), where participants were rewarded with vouchers for achieving 5000, 7500, and 10,000 steps per day, we analysed 52,346 participant-days from 3075 participants. Hourly step counts were modelled using a two-part model (logistic for zero vs. any steps; gamma with log link for positive steps), allowing dependence on cumulative steps up to the previous hour and demographics. Results: Participants’ mean age was 44.2 years (SD 13.9), 40.4% male. On weekdays, participants aged ≥60 had higher hourly mean steps than those aged 30–59 from start of day until 6 p.m. Participants who accumulated at least 7000 steps by 7 p.m. were more likely to reach 10,000 steps by day’s end. Conclusions: We provide hourly target recommendations to achieve daily goals tailored by participant characteristics. Future studies could test whether prompts at recommended times improve attainment of step goals.