Differences in movement between the preferred arm, most commonly used to perform daily living tasks, or non-preferred arm may result in different physical activity estimates when using accelerometry. Therefore, this study compared measured physical activity, using an Actigraph Link, between the preferred and non-preferred wrist during college students' structured daily college activities and free-living conditions. 30 participants completed 7 lab tasks wearing an accelerometer on each wrist followed by 7 days of free-living data. Average vector magnitude (AVM) of counts per minute during lab activities and free-living conditions were compared between the preferred and non-preferred wrists. AVM was significantly higher in the preferred wrist compared to the non-preferred during basketball (preferred = 22,753.9 (SD 4,013.6) vs non-preferred = 20,655.6 (3,196.5), p = .003), and racquetball (15,248.4 (3,503.9) vs 12,030.0 (3,115.6), p < .001). The AVM was significantly higher in the non-preferred wrist during: laptop use (preferred = 674.7 (601.0) vs non-preferred = 943.0 (546.9), p = .003), relaxing (799.7 (640.2) vs 1,117.2 (807.8), p = .010), walking using a smartphone (4,856.3 (1,411.2) vs 6,272.6 (1,652.3), p < .001), walking stairs (7,811.3 (1,771.4) vs 7,949.0 (1,787.2), p = .039). During free-living conditions, the AVM was significantly higher in the preferred wrist (2,497.2 (887.6) vs 1,877.7 (797.3), p < .001). Wearable device users should expect higher physical activity estimates in everyday living when worn on the dominant wrist. As physical activity is critical indicator of health, more research is necessary to determine if this difference is clinically significant.
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