Distant Past Exercise in Women: Measures May Be Reliable, But Are They Valid?

Abstract

Retrospective reports from women of distant past activity levels will likely yield different information depending on the form of questioning. It is unclear which method, if any, is accurate and unbiased. The validity of each method is therefore also questionable.

Distinct trajectories of leisure time physical activity and predictors of trajectory class membership: a 22 year cohort study

“…[ 18 - 23 ] While cross-sectional designs that incorporate past experience can examine reported change in behaviours, recall of past physical activity involvement is generally poor. [ 24 - 26 ] Even prospective studies have generally employed simple methods to categorize individuals, for example by averaging repeated assessments of physical activity, or through modeling change in physical activity relative to some baseline value. [ 27 ] Some prospective studies incorporate absolute values of change (or meaningful categories thereof), typically grouping individuals into only two [ 6 , 28 - 30 ] or three [ 31 , 32 ] categories.…”

Lifetime adherence to physical activity recommendations and fall occurrence in community-dwelling older adults: A retrospective cohort study

“…The estimation of historical physical activity is also important in evaluating the efficacy of current guidelines in health promotion. Any study investigating lifetime physical activity in current older adults, out of necessity, involves information gathered retrospectively in the form of self-reports (Dawson et al, 2003). Unless a study group is assessed longitudinally from youth to old age, recall is the only option available to many researchers.…”