Validity of the Bouchard activity diary in Spanish adolescents

Abstract

Objective: Valid and simple instruments to assess physical activity (PA) in specific populations are required for health-related research. The aim of the present study was to assess the validity of the Bouchard activity diary (AD) in Spanish adolescents using an activity monitor to compare total PA and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) obtained by both instruments. Design: Sixty-one Spanish adolescents, aged 12-16 years, completed the Bouchard AD and wore the ActiGraph activity monitor for three consecutive days. Validity was assessed with the Spearman correlation coefficient (r), the Bland-Altman method and the k coefficient. Results: Thirty-seven adolescents were included in the final analysis. Correlations between the activity monitor and the AD administered over the three days (Thursday-Saturday) were moderate (r 5 0?33-0?35, P , 0?05) or non-significant for total PA and moderate (r 5 0?36, P , 0?05) for MVPA. Correlations between the two methods were progressively lower for each subsequent day of testing, for both total PA and MVPA. The Bland-Altman plot illustrated that the Bouchard AD overestimated MVPA (mean difference 232?05 (SD 74?56) min; 95 % limits of agreement 109?61, 2173?31 min). Agreements for classification into MVPA tertiles and accordance with the international recommendations of MVPA were fair and moderate, respectively, for the 3 d means. Conclusions:The Bouchard AD has reasonable validity to assess total PA and MVPA in Spanish adolescents. The results show lower levels of agreement on the third day but it is not clear if this is due to design features (weekday v. weekend) or to participant compliance with the survey or the activity monitoring protocol.

Convergent Validity of the Arab Teens Lifestyle Study (ATLS) Physical Activity Questionnaire

“…In another review paper [19], the median correlation of pedometer counts with self-reported physical activity questionnaire was shown to be 0.33; a value that is very close in magnitude to what has been found in the present study. A similar correlation (r = 0.33–0.35) was also found between Bouchard Activity Diary and ActiGraph activity monitor in Spanish adolescents [24]. Another validity study on Vietnamese adolescents reported an acceptable coefficient (r = 0.27) when comparing physical activity questionnaire with accelerometer measurement [25].…”

Validation of the Netherlands physical activity questionnaire in Brazilian children

“…The first one was carried out in the same city of the current study (Pelotas), and the mean time of registered activities was 921 min/day with a range of 620 to 1266 min [16]. Another study took place in Madrid and the mean time of registered activities was 789 min in the second day of use [17]. Accelerometers are recommended to be worn during at least three days and during each day at least 600 min of activities must be recorded to represent physical activity patterns in children [18].…”

A validation study of a modified Bouchard activity record that extends the concept of ‘uptime’ to Rett syndrome

“…This study examined the relationships between the modified BAR and two pragmatic criterion standard objective measures: the participant's walking status and step counts measured using the previously validated SAM . The BAR is a subjective measure of physical activity, and has been validated in healthy populations of young adults aged 18 to 23 years and adolescents aged 12 to 16 years . We combined some of the BAR categories to fit the range of activities relevant to the severe disability associated with Rett syndrome, and our findings validate the use of a proxy‐completed BAR for this group.…”