Validation of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Among Blacks
in Journal of Physical Activity and HealthClick name to view affiliation
Background:
The International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-S) has been evaluated against accelerometer-determined physical activity measures in small homogenous samples of adults in the United States. There is limited information about the validity of the IPAQ-S in diverse US samples.
Methods:
142 Blacks residing in low-income housing completed the IPAQ-S and wore an accelerometer for up to 6 days. Both 1- and 10-minute accelerometer bouts were used to define time spent in light, moderate, and vigorous physical activity.
Results:
We found fair agreement between the IPAQ-S and accelerometer-determined physical activity (r = .26 for 10-minute bout, r = .36 for 1-minute bout). Correlations were higher among men than women. When we classified participants as meeting physical activity recommendations, agreement was low (kappa = .04, 10-minute; kappa = .21, 1-minute); only 25% of individuals were classified the same by both instruments (10-minute bout).
Conclusions:
In one of the few studies to assess the validity of a self-reported physical activity measure among Blacks, we found moderate correlations with accelerometer data, though correlations were weaker for women. Correlations were smaller when IPAQ-S data were compared using a 10- versus a 1-minute bout definition. There was limited evidence for agreement between the instruments when classifying participants as meeting physical activity recommendations.
Wolin is with the Dept of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110. Heil is with the Dept of Health and Human Development, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717. Askew and Bennett are with the Center for Community-Based Research, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115. Matthews is with the Institute for Medicine and Public Health, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232. Bennett is also with the Dept of Society, Human Development, and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115.
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