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Criterion validity of a 10-category scale for ranking physical activity in Norwegian women.


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Authors

Borch, Kristin B 
Ekelund, Ulf 
Brage, Søren 
Lund, Eiliv 

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Accurate measurement of physical activity (PA) is critical to establish dose-response relationships with various health outcomes. We compared the self-administered PA questionnaire from the Norwegian Women and Cancer Study (NOWAC) with a criterion method in middle-aged Norwegian women. METHODS: A sample of 177 randomly recruited healthy women attended two clinical visits approximately 4-6 months apart. At each visit, the women completed the NOWAC PA questionnaire (NOPAQ), rating their overall PA level on a 10-category scale (1 being a "very low" and 10 being a "very high" PA level) and performed an 8-minute step-test to estimate aerobic fitness (VO2max). After each visit, the women wore a combined heart rate and movement sensor for 4 consecutive days of free-living. Measures of PA obtained from the combined heart rate and movement sensor, which were used as criterion, included individually calibrated PA energy expenditure (PAEE), acceleration, and hours/day of moderate-to-vigorous intensity PA (MVPA). These were averaged between visits and compared to NOPAQ scores at visit 2. RESULTS: Intra-class correlation coefficients for objective measures from both free-living periods were in the range of 0.65-0.87 (P < 0.001), compared to 0.62 (P < 0.001) for NOPAQ. There was a moderate but significant (P < 0.001) Spearman's rank correlation coefficient in the range of 0.36-0.46 between NOPAQ and objective measures of PA. Linear trends for the association between the NOPAQ rating scale with PAEE, hours/day of MVPA and VO2max (P < 0.001) were also demonstrated. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported PA level measured on a 10-category scale appears valid to rank PA in a female Norwegian population.

Description

Keywords

Acceleration, Adult, Energy Metabolism, Exercise, Exercise Test, Female, Health Surveys, Heart Rate, Humans, Middle Aged, Motor Activity, Movement, Norway, Oxygen Consumption, Physical Exertion, Physical Fitness, Reproducibility of Results, Self Report, Statistics, Nonparametric, Surveys and Questionnaires

Journal Title

Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1479-5868
1479-5868

Volume Title

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Sponsorship
Academy of Medical Sciences (unknown)
Medical Research Council (MC_UU_12015/3)
Medical Research Council (MC_U106179473)