Validity of a physical activity questionnaire in Shanghai.
OBJECTIVE
In large epidemiologic studies, physical activity (PA) is often assessed using PA questionnaires (PAQ). Because available PAQ may not capture the full range of PA in which urban Chinese adults engage, a PAQ was developed for this purpose. We examined the validity of this PAQ and the 1-yr stability of PA in 545 urban Shanghai adults.


METHODS
The PAQ was interview-administered twice, approximately 1 yr apart, and participants also wore an accelerometer and completed a PA-log for seven consecutive days every 3 months during the same year. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to evaluate the stability of PA across questionnaire administrations, and Spearman correlation coefficients (ρ) and mean differences and 95% limits of agreement were used to examine the validity of the questionnaire compared against accelerometry and the PA-log.


RESULTS
When measured by accelerometry, estimates of time spent in moderate-to-vigorous PA were lower and estimates of time spent sedentary were higher than when self-reported on the PAQ (P < 0.001). Total PA (ICC = 0.65) and PA domains (ICC = 0.45-0.85) showed moderate to high stability across PAQ administrations. Total PA (ρ = 0.30), moderate-to-vigorous activity (ρ = 0.17), light activity (ρ = 0.36), and sedentary behavior (ρ = 0.16) assessed by PAQ and by accelerometry were significantly and positively correlated, and correlations of the PAQ with the PA-log (ρ = 0.36-0.85) were stronger than those observed with accelerometry.


CONCLUSIONS
The PAQ significantly overestimated time spent in moderate-to-vigorous activity and underestimated time spent in light activity and sedentary behavior compared with accelerometry, but it performed well at ranking participants according to PA level.
Peters
Tricia M
TM
National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Shu
Xiao-Ou
XO
Moore
Steven C
SC
Xiang
Yong Bing
YB
Yang
Gong
G
Ekelund
Ulf
U
Liu
Da-Ke
DK
Tan
Yu-Ting
YT
Ji
Bu-Tian
BT
Schatzkin
Arthur S
AS
Zheng
Wei
W
Chow
Wong Ho
WH
Matthews
Charles E
CE
Leitzmann
Michael F
MF
D056044:Actigraphy; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002681:China; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*
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