An assessment of self-reported physical activity instruments in young people for population surveillance: Project ALPHA

Abstract

BackgroundThe assessment of physical activity is an essential part of understanding patterns and influences of behaviour, designing interventions, and undertaking population surveillance and monitoring, but it is particularly problematic when using self-report instruments with young people. This study reviewed available self-report physical activity instruments developed for use with children and adolescents to assess their suitability and feasibility for use in population surveillance systems, particularly in Europe.MethodsSystematic searches and review, supplemented by expert panel assessment.ResultsPapers (n = 437) were assessed as potentially relevant; 89 physical activity measures were identified with 20 activity-based measures receiving detailed assessment. Three received support from the majority of the expert group: Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children/Adolescents (PAQ-C/PAQ-A), Youth Risk Behaviour Surveillance Survey (YRBS), and the Teen Health Survey.ConclusionsPopulation surveillance of youth physical activity is strongly recommended and those involved in developing and undertaking this task should consider the three identified shortlisted instruments and evaluate their appropriateness for application within their national context. Further development and testing of measures suitable for population surveillance with young people is required.

Age and Gender Differences in Prevalence of Screen Based Behaviour, Physical Activity and Health Complaints among Slovak School-aged Children

“…Responses were in a range from 0 days to 7 days, and according to the WHO recommendation (25) were classified into three categories as follows: 1 -active less than 2 days; 2 -active at least 3 days; 3 -active every day. Regarding to validity, authors concluded that moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) index has acceptable validity for measuring amount of physical activity in adolescents (26)(27)(28).…”

Medical Students’ Awareness of the Links between Physical Activity and Health

“…Results reported here may not generalizable to other geographic and cultural settings. Although self-reported data on PA may lead to misclassifi cation bias, self-report is a common and convenient strategy (Biddle, Gorely, Pearson, & Bull, 2011) and a validated questionnaire was used. Knowledge, attitudes, and competence in PA advising and personal PA habits may be diff erent for medical students at later stages of medical training and aft er exposure to more specifi c PA-related curricula.…”

Cut-off values for classifying active children and adolescentes using the Physical Activity Questionnaire: PAQ-C and PAQ-A

“…The Physical Activity Questionnaire for children and adolescents (PAQ-C & PAQ-A) are a cost-effective tools to assess PA patterns during childhood and adolescence (8) and they have been widely used in research and field settings. However, a limitation is that the outcome score is not readily interpretable (9). The PAQ asks for frequency spent in physical activities, which is a subjective rating of intensity, moreover their items are scored using ordinal scales (1-5 scale) and the outcome measure is computed as a simple mean of the individual items.…”