Weekly Physical Activity from IPAQ (Arabic) Recalls and from IDEEA Activity Meters

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.