Physical activity assessment for public health: efficacious use of the single-item measure

• Published in: Public health (London) 2015-12, Vol.129 (12), p.1630-1636
• Main Authors: Zwolinsky, S, McKenna, J, Pringle, A, Widdop, P, Griffiths, C
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Female; Guidelines as Topic; Health Policy; Humans; Infectious Disease; Internal Medicine; Male; Mass Screening - methods; Middle Aged; Motor Activity; Physical activity; Public Health; Questionnaire; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and specificity; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0033-3506; 1476-5616
• DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2015.07.015

Abstract Objectives The accurate mass assessment of physical activity is essential for effective Public Health policy and practice. Combined with a desire to minimize participant burden, the self-reported single-item physical activity screening measure has become increasingly attractive and widespread. To help reduce any potential misclassification, refining this instrumentation in line with any changes in prescribed activity levels is essential to optimize accuracy. Study design This study compares the levels of agreement, sensitivity and specificity for the single-item measure versus International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) using current physical activity recommendations. Methods Agreement was assessed in a non-probability sample of 7650 adults. The κ statistic, sensitivity and specificity were used to assess agreement between the tools for classifying participants as sufficiently active for health (≥150 min of physical activity per week) or not, and being classified as inactive (