{"id":26691,"date":"2026-08-25T17:44:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T17:44:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/krss-dev\/people\/david-r-bassett\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T17:51:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T17:51:52","slug":"david-r-bassett","status":"publish","type":"people","link":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/krss\/people\/david-r-bassett\/","title":{"rendered":"David R. Bassett, Jr., PhD"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"people_cat":[],"class_list":["post-26691","people","type-people","status-publish","entry"],"acf":{"people_featured_photo":26345,"people_name":"David R. Bassett, Jr., PhD","people_title":"Professor Emeritus","people_unit":"Exercise Physiology","people_address":"","people_email":"dbassett@utk.edu","people_phone":"","people_biography":"

David Bassett was a UT faculty member from 1988-2022, and served as department head from 2016-2022. He taught courses including Physiology of Exercise, Advanced Exercise Physiology, Fitness Testing and Exercise Prescription, Cardiovascular Physiology, Clinical Exercise Physiology, Laboratory Techniques, Graduate Seminar, and Advanced Topics in Obesity. His primary research area was the measurement of physical activity and energy expenditure in humans, using objective methods. He and his colleagues studied the validity and reliability of pedometers, activity monitors, and fitness trackers, with a particular focus on standardizing daily step counts.<\/p>\n

Bassett and his co-workers conducted research on walking in various populations. They collected data on groups ranging from school children to inactive adults to Amish farmers. They also explored the relationships of ambulatory physical activity to body weight, blood pressure, blood lipids, and other cardiovascular risk factors.  In intervention studies conducted with Dixie Thompson and UT doctoral students, they showed that increases in daily step counts resulted in improvements in blood pressure, weight control, and increased glucose tolerance.  He worked with epidemiologists to show that there is an inverse relation between steps per day and all-cause mortality, using data from the Women\u2019s Health Study, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), and other prospective, observational studies.<\/p>\n

Bassett and Edward Howley co-authored papers on maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max<\/sub>). They published a review paper on criteria for attainment of maximal oxygen uptake, and two reviews on the determinants of maximal oxygen uptake, and the role of this variable in determining performance in distance running.  In 2000, Bassett traveled to Cambridge University to access materials stored in the Churchill Archives, and wrote a historical piece on the scientific contributions of A.V. Hill, a Nobel Prize winner who did pioneering work in exercise physiology.<\/p>\n

In 2008, Bassett collaborated with researchers in the transportation policy and planning field to publish a study on walking, cycling, and obesity rates in fifteen countries on three continents.  They found that Europeans walked and cycled more than North Americans and Australians, and that levels of active transportation were inversely related to obesity rates in these countries. Later, he and his colleagues later showed that use of active transportation was inversely correlated to the prevalence of obesity and diabetes, using city, state, and international data.<\/p>","people_education":"\n\n\n\n\n
PhD<\/td>\nUniversity of Wisconsin, Madison<\/td>\nPhysical Education & Dance<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MS<\/td>\nBall State University<\/td>\nExercise Physiology<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BS<\/td>\nOberlin College<\/td>\nBiology<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>","people_research":"","website_one":"","website_two":"","faculty_website":"","people_links":"","people_additional":"

Recent Publications<\/h4>\n

Bassett DR<\/strong>, Toth LP, LaMunion SR, and Crouter SE.  Step Counting: Measurement Considerations and Health Implications. Sports Med.<\/em> 47<\/em>(7), 1303-1315, 2017. doi:10.1007\/s40279-016-0663-1<\/a><\/p>\n

Monroe CM, Thompson DL, Bassett DR<\/strong>, Fitzhugh EC, Raynor HA.  Effect of adding online social support tools to an adult walking program: randomized controlled trial.  Health Promotion Practice<\/em>. 18(1):84-92 2017. doi:10.1177\/1524839915626674<\/a><\/p>\n

Woodman JA, Crouter SE, Bassett DR<\/strong>, Fitzhugh EC, and Boyer WR.  Accuracy of consumer monitors for estimating energy expenditure and activity type.  Med Sci Sports Exerc<\/em> 49(2):371-7, 2017. doi:10.1249\/MSS.0000000000001090<\/a><\/p>\n

Chomistek AK, Yuan C, Matthews CE, Troiano RP, Rood J, Barnett JB, Willett WC, Rimm EB, Bassett DR<\/strong>.  Physical Activity Assessment with Waist-Worn ActiGraph GT3X and Doubly Labeled Water: A Comparison Study.   Med Sci Sports Exerc<\/em> 2017 Apr 18. doi:10.1249\/MSS.0000000000001299<\/a><\/p>\n

Langford BC, Cherry CR, Bassett DR<\/strong>, Fitzhugh EC, Dhakal N. Comparing physical activity of pedal-assist electric bikes with walking and conventional bicycles. Journal of Transport and Health, 2017<\/em>. doi:10.1016\/j.jth.2017.06.002<\/a><\/p>\n

Butte NF, Ridley K, Watson KB, Zakeri IF, McMurray RG, Pfeiffer KA, Crouter SE, Herrmann SD, Bassett DR<\/strong>, Long A, Zekarias B, Trost SG, Ainsworth BE, Berrigan D, Fulton JE. Youth Compendium of Physical Activities: Activity Codes and Intensities, Med Sci Sports Exerc<\/em>.  50(2):246-256, 2017. https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC5768467\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Ainsworth BE, Watson KB, Ridley K, Pfeiffer KA, Herrmann SD, Crouter SE, McMurray RG, Butte NF, Bassett DR<\/strong>, Trost SG et al. Utility of the Youth Compendium of Physical Activities Res. Q. Exerc. Sport 89(3):273-281, 2018.  doi:10.1080\/02701367.2018.1487754<\/a><\/p>\n

Toth LP, Park S, Pittman WL, Sarisaltik D, Hibbing PR, Morton AL, Springer CM, Crouter SE, and Bassett DR<\/strong>.  Validity of activity tracker step counts during walking, running, and activities of daily living.  Translational Journal of ACSM<\/em> 3(7):52-59, 2018.  doi: 10.1249\/TJX.0000000000000057<\/a><\/p>\n

Toth LP, Park S, Hibbing PR, Springer CM, Kaplan AS, Feyerabend MD, Crouter SE, Steeves JA, and Bassett DR<\/strong>.  Video-recorded validation of wearable step counters under free-living conditions.  Med Sci Sports Exerc<\/em>.  50(6):1315-1322, 2018. doi: 10.1249\/MSS.0000000000001569<\/a><\/p>\n

Bassett DR<\/strong>, Fairbrother JT, Panton, L, Martin P, and Swartz A.  Undergraduate enrollments and faculty resources in Kinesiology at selected U.S. public universities: 2007-2017.  Kinesiol Rev<\/em> 7:286-294, 2018.  https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1123\/kr.2018-0043<\/a><\/p>\n

Bassett DR<\/strong>, Freedson PS, John D.  Wearable activity trackers in clinical research and practice.  Kinesiol Rev<\/em> 8(1):11-15, 2019  https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1123\/kr.2018-0060<\/a><\/p>\n

Toth LP, Park S, Pittman WL, Sarisaltik D, Hibbing PR, Morton AL, Springer CM, Crouter SE, Bassett DR<\/strong>.  Effects of brief intermittent walking bouts on step count accuracy of wearable devices. J Measurement of Physical Behaviour 2(1):13-21, 2019. <\/em>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1123\/jmpb.2018-0050<\/a><\/p>\n

Manuscripts in Press
\n<\/u><\/strong>Funk MD, Salazar CL, Garcia M, Gonzalez J, Leyva P, Bassett DR<\/strong>, Karabulut M.
\nValidity of smartphone applications at measuring steps: does wear location matter? J Measurement of Physical Behaviour,<\/em> In Press, 12\/18\/2018.<\/p>\n\n

Book Chapters<\/h4>\n

Bassett DR<\/strong> and Bielak KM.  Physical activity measures, chapter 8 in Lifestyle Medicine: A Manual for Clinical Practice. Springer Publishing, New York. Jeffrey I. Mechanick and Robert F. Kushner (Eds). 2016.  ISBN 978-3-319-24685-7.<\/p>\n

Bassett DR<\/strong>.  Exercise and Heart Disease, in Fitness Professional\u2019s Handbook, 7th<\/sup> ed<\/em>.  E.T. Howley and DL Thompson (Eds).  Human Kinetics.  Champaign, Illinois, 2017, pp. 363-375.  ISBN 9781492523376<\/p>\n

Bassett DR<\/strong>.  Exercise and Pulmonary Disease, in Fitness Professional\u2019s Handbook, 7th<\/sup> ed<\/em>.  ET Howley and DL Thompson (Eds).  Human Kinetics.  Champaign, Illinois, 2017, pp. 397-406.  ISBN 9781492523376<\/p>\n

Bassett DR<\/strong>. ECG and Exercise Performance, in Fitness Professional\u2019s Handbook, 7th<\/sup> ed<\/em>.  ET Howley and DL Thompson (Eds).  Human Kinetics.  Champaign, Illinois, 2017, pp. 429-445.  ISBN 9781492523376<\/p>"},"yoast_head":"\nDavid R. Bassett, Jr., PhD - Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/krss\/people\/david-r-bassett\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"David R. 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