Calibration of two objective measures of physical activity for children

A calibration study was conducted to determine the threshold counts for two commonly used accelerometers, the ActiGraph and the Actical, to classify activities by intensity in children 5 to 8 years of age. Thirty-three children wore both accelerometers and a COSMED portable metabolic system during 1...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of sports sciences 2008-12, Vol.26 (14), p.1557-1565
Main Authors: Evenson, Kelly R., Catellier, Diane J., Gill, Karminder, Ondrak, Kristin S., McMurray, Robert G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
accelerometer
Actigraphy - instrumentation
Biological and medical sciences
Calibration
Calorimetry, Indirect
Children
Equipment Design
exercise
Exercise - physiology
Exercise Test - instrumentation
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Heart Rate
Humans
Male
Motor Activity - physiology
Oxygen Consumption
physical activity
Physical Fitness
ROC Curve
Sensitivity and Specificity
Vertebrates: body movement. Posture. Locomotion. Flight. Swimming. Physical exercise. Rest. Sports
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Summary:A calibration study was conducted to determine the threshold counts for two commonly used accelerometers, the ActiGraph and the Actical, to classify activities by intensity in children 5 to 8 years of age. Thirty-three children wore both accelerometers and a COSMED portable metabolic system during 15 min of rest and then performed up to nine different activities for 7 min each, on two separate days in the laboratory. Oxygen consumption was measured on a breath-by-breath basis, and accelerometer data were collected in 15-s epochs. Using receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis, cutpoints that maximised both sensitivity and specificity were determined for sedentary, moderate and vigorous activities. For both accelerometers, discrimination of sedentary behaviour was almost perfect, with the area under the ROC curve at or exceeding 0.98. For both the ActiGraph and Actical, the discrimination of moderate (0.85 and 0.86, respectively) and vigorous activity (0.83 and 0.86, respectively) was acceptable, but not as precise as for sedentary behaviour. This calibration study, using indirect calorimetry, suggests that the two accelerometers can be used to distinguish differing levels of physical activity intensity as well as inactivity among children 5 to 8 years of age.
ISSN:0264-0414
1466-447X
DOI:10.1080/02640410802334196