For convergent validity ( i.e. , the relationship between PAQs and other measures ) , similar overall associations were found between Past-week PAQs and Usual-week PAQs .
However , PAQs were more strongly associated with direct measures of physical activity ( e.g. , accelerometer ) than indirect measures of physical activity ( i.e. , physical fitness ) , irrespective of recall methods .
Only a few interview-administered PAQs exhibited positive ratings for a single psychometric property , although the other properties were either rated as poor or question able , demonstrating the limitations of current PAQs .
Reliability and Validity of the Self- and Interviewer-Administered Versions of the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ)
Objective The Global Physical Activity Question naire ( GPAQ ) was originally design ed to be interviewer-administered by the World Health Organization in assessing physical activity . The main aim of this study was to compare the psychometric properties of a self-administered GPAQ with the original interviewer-administered approach . Additionally , this study explored whether using different accelerometry-based physical activity bout definitions might affect the question naire ’s validity . Methods A total of 110 participants were recruited and r and omly allocated to an interviewer- ( n = 56 ) or a self-administered ( n = 54 ) group for test-retest reliability , of which 108 participants who met the wear time criteria were included in the validity study . Reliability was assessed by administration of question naires twice with a one-week interval . Criterion validity was assessed by comparing against seven-day accelerometer measures . Two definitions for accelerometry- data scoring were employed : ( 1 ) total-min of activity , and ( 2 ) 10-min bout . Results Participants had similar baseline characteristics in both administration groups and no significant difference was found between the two formats in terms of validity ( correlations between the GPAQ and accelerometer ) . For validity , the GPAQ demonstrated fair-to-moderate correlations for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity ( MVPA ) for self-administration ( r s = 0.30 ) and interviewer-administration ( r s = 0.46 ) . Findings were similar when considering 10-min activity bouts in the accelerometer analysis for MVPA ( r s = 0.29 vs. 0.42 for self vs. interviewer ) . Within each mode of administration , the strongest correlations were observed for vigorous-intensity activity . However , Bl and -Altman plots illustrated bias toward overestimation for higher levels of MVPA , vigorous- and moderate-intensity activities , and underestimation for lower levels of these measures . Reliability for MVPA revealed moderate correlations ( r s = 0.61 vs. 0.63 for self vs. interviewer ) . Conclusions Our findings showed comparability between both self- and interviewer-administration modes of the GPAQ . The GPAQ in general but especially the self-administered version may offer a relatively inexpensive method for measuring physical activity of various types and at different domains . However , there may be bias in the GPAQ measurements depending on the overall physical activity . It is advisable to incorporate accelerometers in future studies , particularly when measuring different intensities of physical activity
For convergent validity ( i.e. , the relationship between PAQs and other measures ) , similar overall associations were found between Past-week PAQs and Usual-week PAQs .
However , PAQs were more strongly associated with direct measures of physical activity ( e.g. , accelerometer ) than indirect measures of physical activity ( i.e. , physical fitness ) , irrespective of recall methods .
Only a few interview-administered PAQs exhibited positive ratings for a single psychometric property , although the other properties were either rated as poor or question able , demonstrating the limitations of current PAQs .