Validity of Four Short Physical Activity Questionnaires in Middle-Aged Persons

Mäder, Urs; Martin, Brian W.; Schutz, Yves; Marti, Bernard (2006). Validity of Four Short Physical Activity Questionnaires in Middle-Aged Persons Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 38(7), pp. 1255-1266. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 10.1249/01.mss.0000227310.18902.28

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Purpose: Self-administered questionnaires continue to be the most widely used type of physical activity assessment in epidemiological studies. However, test-retest reliability and validity of physical activity questionnaires have to be determined. In this study, three short physical activity questionnaires already used in Switzerland and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) were validated. Methods: Test-retest reliability was assessed by repeated administration of all questionnaires within 3 wk in 178 volunteers (77 women, 46.1+/-14.8 yr; 101 men 46.8+/-13.2 yr). Validity of categorical and continuous data was studied in a subsample of 35 persons in relation to 7-d accelerometer readings, percent body fat, and cardiorespiratory fitness. Results: Reliability was fair to good with a Spearman correlation coefficient range of 0.43-0.68 for measures of continuous data and moderate to fair with Kappa values between 0.32 and 0.46 for dichotomous measures active/inactive. Total physical activity reported in the IPAQ and the Office in Motion Questionnaire (OIMQ) correlated with accelerometry readings (r=0.39 and 0.44, respectively). In contrast, correlations of self-reported physical data with percent body fat and cardiorespiratory fitness were low (r=-0.26-0.29). Participants categorized as active by the Swiss HEPA Survey 1999 instrument (HEPA99) accumulated significantly more days of the recommended physical activities than their inactive counterparts (4.4 and 2.7 d.wk, respectively, P<0.05). However, compared with accelerometer data, vigorous physical activities were overreported in investigated questionnaires. Conclusion: Collecting valid data on physical activity remains a challenging issue for questionnaire surveys. The IPAQ and the three other questionnaires are characterized to inform decisions about their appropriate use.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	Swiss Federal Institute of Sports Magglingen SFISM > EHSM - Leistungssport
Name:	Mäder, Urs; Martin, Brian W.; Schutz, Yves and Marti, Bernard
ISSN:	0195-9131 (Print) 1530-0315 (Online)
Publisher:	Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Language:	English
Submitter:	Service Account
Date Deposited:	03 Mar 2021 11:01
Last Modified:	22 Sep 2021 02:17
Publisher DOI:	10.1249/01.mss.0000227310.18902.28
PubMed ID:	16826022
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Reliability MTI Accelerometer Overreporting Surveillance
ARBOR DOI:	10.24451/arbor.10981
URI:	https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/10981