title: Validation of three short physical activity questionnaires with accelerometers among university students in Spain.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Physical activity (PA) in university students has not been analyzed with specific questionnaires tailored to this population. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze the validity of three PA questionnaires developed on other populations comparing with accelerometer values: counts and moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) calculated with uniaxial and triaxial cut points.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred and forty-five university students (of whom, 92 women) from Spain wore an accelerometer GT3X or GTX+ to collect PA data of 7 full days. Three questionnaires, Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adults (PAQ-AD), Assessment of Physical Activity Questionnaire (APALQ), and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ-SF) were administrated jointly with the collection of accelerometer values. Finally, after the application of inclusion criteria, data from 95 participants (62 women) with a mean age of 21.96±2.33 years were analyzed to compare the instruments measures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The correlational analysis showed that PAQ-AD (0.44-0.56) and IPAQ-SF (0.26-0.69) questionnaires were significantly related to accelerometers scores: counts, uniaxial MVPA and triaxial MVPA. Conversely, APALQ displayed no significant relations for males with accelerometers scores for MVPA created with both cut points.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PAQ-AD and IPAQ-SF questionnaires have shown adequate validity to use with Spanish university students. The use of counts to validate self-report data in order to reduce the variability display by MVPA created with different cut points is discussed. Finally, validated instruments to measure PA in university students will allow implementation of strategies for PA promotion based on reliable data.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Zaragoza, Teruel, Spain - sheilarm@unizar.es.
authors.forename: Sheila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Muñoz
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Zaragoza, Teruel, Spain.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Corella
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Zaragoza, Teruel, Spain.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abarca-Sos
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Zaragoza, Teruel, Spain.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zaragoza
mesh_terms: D061725:Accelerometry / Q000379:methods*; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013030:Spain; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D055815:Young Adult