Convergent validity of a questionnaire for assessing physical activity in Spanish adolescents with overweight.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the convergent validity of the PAQ-A for assessing physical activity (PA) in overweight (including obese) adolescents.


METHODS
Two hundred and three Spanish adolescents (96 females), aged 13-17 years, were selected for this study. Levels of PA were self-reported by 3-day activity diary, activity rating and PAQ-A. Adolescents wore the ActiGraph accelerometer for 7 days. Overweight was classified according to International Obesity Task Force age- and sex-specific body mass index cut offs.


RESULTS
Fifty-four (33 male and 21 female) adolescents (27%) were classified as overweight or obese. The PAQ-A was moderately related in the overweight adolescent group to an activity rating (ρ=0.52), total PA and moderate-to-vigorous PA assessed by activity monitor (ρ=0.52 and 0.43) and total PA and moderate-to-vigorous PA assessed by activity diary (ρ=0.32 and 0.47). There were no significant differences in the correlation coefficients between non-overweight and overweight adolescents.


CONCLUSIONS
The PAQ-A shows a reasonable validity for assessing PA in Spanish overweight adolescents.
Martínez-Gómez
David
D
Immunonutrition Research Group, Department of Metabolism and Nutrition, Institute Frío-Food Science, Technology and Nutrition (ICTAN), Spanish National Research Council, Madrid, Spain.
Gómez-Martínez
Sonia
S
Wärnberg
Julia
J
Welk
Gregory J
GJ
Marcos
Ascensión
A
Veiga
Oscar L
OL
D000293:Adolescent; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D009765:Obesity; D050177:Overweight; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012737:Sex Factors; D013030:Spain; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires