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Reproducibility and Validity of a Self-Administered Physical Activity Questionnaire
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The reproducibility and validity of self-administered questionnaires on physical activity and inactivity were examined in a random (representative) sample of the Nurses' Health Study II cohort and a random sample of African-American women in that cohort. METHODS: Repeat questionnaires were administered 2 years apart. Past-week activity recalls and 7-day activity diaries were the referent methods; these instruments were sent to participants four times over a 1-year period. RESULTS: The 2-year test-retest correlation for activity was 0.59 for the representative sample (n = 147) and 0.39 for the African-American sample (n = 84). Correlations between activity reported on recalls and that reported on questionnaire were 0.79 and 0.83 for the representative and African-American samples, respectively. Correlations between activity reported in diaries and that reported on questionnaire were 0.62 and 0.59, respectively. Test-retest coefficients for inactivity were 0.52 and 0.55, respectively. Correlations between inactivity reported in diaries and that reported on questionnaire were 0.41 and 0.44, respectively. CONCLUSION: The simple, short questionnaires on activity and inactivity used in the Nurses' Health Study II are reasonably valid measures for epidemiological research.
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“The reproducibility and validity of self-administered questionnaires on adult physical activity were examined in a prospective cohort and found to be appropriate for epidemiologic research (77).”
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Ludwig, D. S., Peterson, K. E., & Gortmaker, S. L. (2001) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(00)04041-1 · Cited by 2,414
Hu, F. B., Li, T. Y., Colditz, G. A., Willett, W. C., & Manson, J. E. (2003) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.289.14.1785 · Cited by 1,892
“The reproducibility and validity of the physical activity questionnaire has been described elsewhere.(10) In a representative sample (n=147) of participants in the Nurses’ Health Study II cohort, the 2-year test-retest correlation for activity was 0.”
Self-citationPrimary Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease in Women through Diet and Lifestyle
Stampfer, M. J., Hu, F. B., Manson, J. E., Rimm, E. B., & Willett, W. C. (2000) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejm200007063430103 · Cited by 1,794
Self-citationPhysical activity and survival after breast cancer diagnosis
Holmes, M. D. (2005) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.293.20.2479 · Cited by 1,772
Self-citationLimits to the measurement of habitual physical activity by questionnaires
Shephard, R. J. (2003) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.37.3.197 · Cited by 1,694
Metadata
- Authors
- WOLF, A. M., HUNTER, D. J., COLDITZ, G. A., MANSON, J. E., STAMPFER, M. J., CORSANO, K. A., ROSNER, B., KRISKA, A., & WILLETT, W. C.
- Affiliations
- Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
- Venue
- International Journal of Epidemiology
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 1994
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 991-999
- ISSN
- 0300-5771 (ISSN-L)
- 1464-3685
- OpenAlex
- W2158187071
- Cited by
- 1,038
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 22 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 29 · 2023: 41 · 2022: 52 · 2021: 53 · 2020: 49 · 2019: 57 · 2018: 57 · 2017: 55 · 2016: 67 · 2015: 54 · 2014: 50 · 2013: 40 · 2012: 50
- FWCI
- 3.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- International Journal of Epidemiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- National Cancer Institute (CA-55075, CA50385, R01CA050385)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Physical Activity and Health
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Statistical Methods in Epidemiology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Nutritional Studies and Diet
- Keywords
- physical activity questionnaire, reproducibility, validity, test-retest reliability, physical inactivity, activity diaries, Nurses' Health Study II, African American women, self-reported physical activity
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Epidemiologic Methods, Female, Humans, Surveys and Questionnaires, Random Allocation, Reproducibility of Results, Exercise
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