The development of a questionnaire to assess past year physical activity in a multi-ethnic/racial urban population.
OBJECTIVE
Describe the development of a questionnaire to assess past year physical activity, including activities of daily living, in a multi-ethnic/racial cohort. Describe energy expenditure (EE) patterns in the sample used for questionnaire development.


METHODS
24-hour activity recalls were collected from a convenience sample (N = 367) at four New York City health agencies (October 1999-February 2000). EE was determined at the population, subgroup, and individual level. EE distributions were compared.


RESULTS
Activities identified were similar to those on established questionnaires. Subgroup and individual EE differences were noted. Median EE at the Chinese and Puerto Rican sites were lower than those at the Caribbean or Dominican sites. No clear age pattern was apparent. Overall, a greater percentage of daily EE was spent in low intensity activities. The resultant 30-minute interviewer-administered questionnaire ascertains patterns (frequency and duration) of domain-specific (recreational, household, occupational, and transportation) activity. This information combined with published intensity levels provides summary EE measures.


CONCLUSIONS
Variation in EE levels requires information on activity type and amount. Summary activity measures can be used to rank individuals analogous to nutrient food frequency measures.
Britton
Julie A
JA
Division of Environmental Health Science, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, 1 Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1057, New York, NY 10029, USA. julie.britton@mssm.edu
Kushi
Lawrence H
LH
Morabia
Alfredo
A
Bernstein
Jonine
J
Shore
Roy
R
Geringer
Wendy
W
Rohan
Tom
T
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000145:classification; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D003625:Data Collection / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009519:New York City; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*