New point system for National Steps Challenge - harder to earn points?
There has been lots of chatter in the street about the new rewards system for the National Step Challenge by the Singapore Health Promotion Board (HPB). I hear of people complaining that it's harder to earn points as there is a cap to the daily walking milestone for steps at 5,000 steps. The new maximum amount of points earned is 10 per day. HPB explains that the step is to “nudge participants towards achieving the recommended physical activity duration and intensity of at least 150 minutes of Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity (MVPA) per week in the Singapore Physical Activity Guidelines”. Basically, you get up to 20 points if you clock 30 minutes of MVPA/day.15 points if you clock 20-29mins/day and 10 points if you clock 10-19 mins/day. My first thought of the change was “ did HPB finally realise that people were shaking their trackers to earn points?” My second thought was “have they, like me, encountered people wearing 3 or more trackers in one arm to collect points for their family and friends.
How is MVPA calculated?
By their definition, MVPA is calculated when your heart rate reaches 63% of your maximum heart rate. Your maximum heart rate is calculated based on 220 - your age = max HR.
Is it harder to earn points?
Yes and no. Yes if you are used to exercising at a low intensity with the predominant activity of walking. You would be earning less points if you do not hit at least moderate levels of MVPA. Hence, you may only earn 10 points per day assuming you do not reach the target heart rate to be considered a moderate level of intensity. This is especially so if you are young and have a good fitness level. A slow, relaxed strolling pace walk would not be sufficient to reach moderate levels of intensity needed to earn the extra MVPA points.
No if you are used to exercising to moderate levels of intensity. If you are of an older age group, your max HR would be much lower compared to someone younger. For example, the max HR for someone aged 60 would be 160 while the max HR for someone 20 years of age would be 200. The MVPA for the 60 year old would be 100 while the MVPA for the 20 year old would be 126. Hence, you would need to reach a lower heart rate to reach MVPA if you are older. One argument would be it would be easier to hit the MVPA for the older population because you would need a lower heart rate to reach it. The less fit you are, the higher your resting heart rate would be and the higher your heart rate would be at any given intensity, This would mean that it would be relatively easier to reach MVPA when you are less fit. As you get fitter your resting heart rate and heart rate achieved with exercise would reduce and hence become harder to reach MVPA.
What is the best strategy to earn points?
The best strategy to earn the maximum points per day would be to use walking/running as your exercise of choice while working at an intensity that would reach MVPA. This would mean that you would need at least 30 mins of brisk walking/ running per day assuming you can sustain your MVPA heart rate. 5000 steps would be approximately between 3.6km to 4.8km, depending on your walking/ running pace. By selecting running/ walking as an exercise type, you would hit steps and MVPA with the same exercise.
Fitness is more than just cardiovascular fitness.
What the step challenge is focusing on is cardiovascular fitness. It is important to note that there are many various components of physical fitness including strength, muscular endurance, mobility, balance, agility, speed and motor control. If we solely focus on earning Health Promotion Board (HPB) points and thus focus on cardiovascular fitness without emphasising on the other aspects of physical fitness, we may lose competence in other other neglected components. For example, if we only walk/run and not do any strengthening exercises, we may be fit cardiovascularly and have lots of HPB points but may have difficulty carrying a heavy suitcase. If you have watched ”Physical 100”, you would know that the more specialised or well trained the person is in one area, he/she would lose out in other areas. We want to build well rounded capabilities and not just focus on cardiovascular fitness alone. Participants should also perform exercises that contribute to other forms of physical fitness as mentioned above as “ Variety is the very spice of life”.
The case against using the ‘carrot’.
There are 2 forms of motivation - extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. The former uses reward systems to motivate and is what HPB uses to nudge citizens into better health by encouraging them to perform cardiovascular exercises to earn points which can be used to redeem various vouchers. Intrinsic motivation on the other hand comes from within. There would be an inherent satisfaction from performing the task that is independent from external pressures or reward. By relying on extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation gets killed and people exercise merely for points. Once the reward system is removed, we can expect motivation to be removed consequently. It is hardly a sustainable method and can be costly to society in the long run. I would suggest more accessibility to health resources such as the programs at Active Health @ Labs for people to learn and understand about health. More rebates for the lower income and the high risk groups in the form of ActiveSG credits to allow them to use facilities more frequently. More outdoor classes that make use of Calisthenic and Parkour movements to encourage people to use free outdoor space to exercise. Also, there should be an emphasis on intrinsic motivation. Letting people understand why it is important to be physically active rather than using the ‘carrot’. Health should be more than collecting points.
So be active for the right reasons. Be healthy not because you can collect points. Let that motivation come from within.
References:
https://www.healthhub.sg/programmes/37/nsc/
