Background: Physical inactivity is a global concern, but diverse physical activity measures in use prevent international comparisons. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was developed as an instrument for cross-national monitoring of physical activity and inactivity.
Methods: Between 1997 and 1998, an International Consensus Group developed four long and four short forms of the IPAQ instruments (administered by telephone interview or self-administration, with two alternate reference periods, either the "last 7 d" or a "usual week" of recalled physical activity). During 2000, 14 centers from 12 countries collected reliability and/or validity data on at least two of the eight IPAQ instruments. Test-retest repeatability was assessed within the same week. Concurrent (inter-method) validity was assessed at the same administration, and criterion IPAQ validity was assessed against the CSA (now MTI) accelerometer. Spearman's correlation coefficients are reported, based on the total reported physical activity.
Results: Overall, the IPAQ questionnaires produced repeatable data (Spearman's rho clustered around 0.8), with comparable data from short and long forms. Criterion validity had a median rho of about 0.30, which was comparable to most other self-report validation studies. The "usual week" and "last 7 d" reference periods performed similarly, and the reliability of telephone administration was similar to the self-administered mode.
Conclusions: The IPAQ instruments have acceptable measurement properties, at least as good as other established self-reports. Considering the diverse samples in this study, IPAQ has reasonable measurement properties for monitoring population levels of physical activity among 18- to 65-yr-old adults in diverse settings. The short IPAQ form "last 7 d recall" is recommended for national monitoring and the long form for research requiring more detailed assessment.
Bassett DR Jr. Bassett DR Jr. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2003 Aug;35(8):1396. doi: 10.1249/01.MSS.0000078923.96621.1D. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2003. PMID: 12900695 No abstract available.
Hallal PC, Victora CG. Hallal PC, et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2004 Mar;36(3):556. doi: 10.1249/01.mss.0000117161.66394.07. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2004. PMID: 15076800 No abstract available.
Helou K, El Helou N, Mahfouz M, Mahfouz Y, Salameh P, Harmouche-Karaki M. Helou K, et al. BMC Public Health. 2017 Jul 24;18(1):49. doi: 10.1186/s12889-017-4599-7. BMC Public Health. 2017. PMID: 28738790 Free PMC article.
Bull FC, Maslin TS, Armstrong T. Bull FC, et al. J Phys Act Health. 2009 Nov;6(6):790-804. doi: 10.1123/jpah.6.6.790. J Phys Act Health. 2009. PMID: 20101923
Van Holle V, De Bourdeaudhuij I, Deforche B, Van Cauwenberg J, Van Dyck D. Van Holle V, et al. BMC Public Health. 2015 Apr 28;15:433. doi: 10.1186/s12889-015-1785-3. BMC Public Health. 2015. PMID: 25928561 Free PMC article.
Hallal PC, Gomez LF, Parra DC, Lobelo F, Mosquera J, Florindo AA, Reis RS, Pratt M, Sarmiento OL. Hallal PC, et al. J Phys Act Health. 2010 Jul;7 Suppl 2:S259-64. doi: 10.1123/jpah.7.s2.s259. J Phys Act Health. 2010. PMID: 20702914 Review.
Lee PH, Macfarlane DJ, Lam TH, Stewart SM. Lee PH, et al. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2011 Oct 21;8:115. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-8-115. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2011. PMID: 22018588 Free PMC article. Review.
Sun X, Yang L, Zhu Z, Wang W, Zhu L, Dong S, Guo L, Yang L, Lin YF, Chen X, Wang W, Lu X, Lu C, Yan B. Sun X, et al. BMC Public Health. 2024 Sep 9;24(1):2455. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-19753-7. BMC Public Health. 2024. PMID: 39251958
Bailey DP, Harper JH, Kilbride C, McGowan LJ, Victor C, Brierley ML, Chater AM. Bailey DP, et al. BMC Geriatr. 2024 Sep 9;24(1):747. doi: 10.1186/s12877-024-05310-9. BMC Geriatr. 2024. PMID: 39251904 Clinical Trial.
Liakos CI, Aggeli C, Toutouzas KP, Markou MI, Vyssoulis GP, Tsioufis C. Liakos CI, et al. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2024 Sep 9. doi: 10.1007/s00421-024-05599-9. Online ahead of print. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2024. PMID: 39249538
Daniels BT, Robinson S, Vargas I, Baum JI, Howie EK. Daniels BT, et al. Sports Med Health Sci. 2024 Apr 18;6(3):246-251. doi: 10.1016/j.smhs.2024.04.003. eCollection 2024 Sep. Sports Med Health Sci. 2024. PMID: 39234487 Free PMC article.
Duan Y, Lu G. Duan Y, et al. J Sports Sci Med. 2024 Sep 1;23(1):495-503. doi: 10.52082/jssm.2024.495. eCollection 2024 Sep. J Sports Sci Med. 2024. PMID: 39228768 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.