TITLE:
Weekly Physical Activity from IPAQ (Arabic) Recalls and from IDEEA Activity Meters
AUTHORS:
Nadia H. J. Garashi, J. Ramadan Al Kandari, Barbara E. Ainsworth, M. Barac-Nieto
KEYWORDS:
Physical Activity, Energy Expenditure, International Recall Questionnaire, Validation, Relbility, Activity Meters, Obesity, Overweight
JOURNAL NAME:
Health,
Vol.12 No.6,
June
11,
2020
ABSTRACT: Objective: Determine the Test reliability and the objective validity of the
International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Methods: IPAQ was evaluated
for test-retest reliability within 6 - 8 days of its first administration. Criterion
validity was tested comparing IPAQ data with those from an activity meter
(Intelligent Device for Energy Expenditure and Activity, IDEEA). Results:
The test-retest correlation (n = 71) for items of IPAQ ranged from r = 0.63 to
r = 0.74 and was r = 0.79 for the total
weekly PA in MET*min per week. Average PA (in MET*min/week) measured with the
IDEEA meter, decreased from normal (15,840), to 14,278 in overweight (BMI > 25- 30) and further to 12,803 in obese subjects (>30. BMI). The weekly
energy expenditure measured by IDEEA correlated significantly (r = 0.61, r2 = 0.38)
with the IPAQ data, providing an objective criterion for validity of IPAQ. The
mean values of weekly PA estimated from IPAQ (in MET*min/week) differed
significantly in the high (15,690) vs. the low (11,398) activity groups but not between the moderate
(12,056) compared to the
low PA group. The IPAQ criteria used to categorize subjects as moderately
active, erred by including too many low PA subjects. IDEEA measurements in
sedentary subjects overestimated their energy expenditure. Conclusions: IPAQ can be reliably used to
distinguish low and high PA groups and yields relatively low estimates (−18%) of weekly PA in these groups compared to
those measured with the activity meter. Stricter criteria are needed to
distinguish moderate from low PA groups. Overweight and obese subjects showed
significantly lower levels of PA than normal BMI subjects. IDEEA overestimates
low levels of PA.