IS THE INTERNATIONAL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY QUESTIONNAIRE (IPAQ) VALID AND RELIABLE IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN POPULATION?

Abstract

Physical activity (PA) assessment has become increasingly important in establishing the relationship between inactivity and disease. However, there are few examples of validated PA questionnaires used in a cross-cultural context. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was developed by a World Health Organisation/ Centres for Disease Control working group, in response to this requirement. The aim of this study was to measure the validity and reliability of the IPAQ in the South African population. Methods: Test-retest reliability was conducted on a long version of the IPAQ (version 8) including, occupational, transport, household and leisure-time PA, as well as, a short version including moderate and vigorous PA (METmin.wk−1). Questionnaires were administered seven days apart to 145 æeurban' and 112 æperi-urban' subjects representing divergent language, occupational, educational and socio-economic groups. Spearman's rank order correlation coefficients were calculated. Criterion validity was determined by the simultaneous measurement of body motion using a uniaxial accelerometer (CSA, Inc) to quantitate PA in 92 æeurban' subjects. Results: Test-re-test reliability results are presented in the table below. Test-re-test reliability for the æeperi-urban' group was consistently lower than for the æeurban' group. Criterion validity for Total PA vs. Total CSA counts was r2 = 0.24 P < 0.0001, but was lower for leisure-time PA r2 = 0.08 p < 0.004 for the long IPAQ. Vigorous PA vs. Total CSA counts was r2 = 0.20 p < 0.0000 for the short IPAQ. Conclusion: The IPAQ was shown to be reliable and valid in this South African sample, and compares favorably with other PA questionnaires. Acknowlegement to Ulf Ekelund, University of Orebio, Sweden.Table