Abstract
Archived Content
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.
Background
Self-reported and accelerometer-measured physical activity levels generally exhibit low correlation and agreement. The objective of this study is to compare estimates of physical activity among adults from a newly developed Canadian questionnaire with those obtained objectively by accelerometry.
Data and methods
Data for 18- to 79-year-olds (N = 2,372) were collected in 2014 and 2015 as part of the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS). Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was reported on the household questionnaire by domain (transportation, recreation, and occupational or household) as part of the new Physical Activity Adult Questionnaire (PAAQ) and measured objectively using the Actical accelerometer. Correlation and mean difference analyses were used to assess the relationships between measured and reported physical activity variables. Linear regression was used to test the association between measured and reported physical activity and measures of obesity.
Results
On average, Canadian adults reported more physical activity than they accumulated on an accelerometer (49 minutes versus 23 minutes per day). The highest correlation observed was between accelerometer-measured MVPA and the sum of self-reported recreation and transportation activity (R = 0.36, p < 0.0001). The sum of activity from all domains (recreation + transportation + occupational or household) exhibited a lower correlation with measured variables because the occupational or household domain was negatively correlated with MVPA (R = -0.04). The occupational or household domain was positively correlated with light-intensity physical activity (R = 0.20, p < 0.0001). Respondents in the least active quintile were more likely than those in the most active quintile to report more activity than was measured by the accelerometer. On average, the most active quintile reported less activity than was measured by the accelerometer.
Interpretation
The newly developed Canadian physical activity questionnaire exhibited modest correlation and agreement with accelerometer-measured physical activity among adults. Accelerometers and questionnaires provide complementary information, about different aspects of physical activity (actual movement versus perceived time). Consequently, one should exercise caution in using estimates derived from these methods interchangeably.
Keywords
Data collection, direct measure, health surveys, movement, exercise
Findings
The Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines (PAG) for adults (⋝ 150 minutes per week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity [MVPA] in bouts of ⋝ 10 minutes) are supported by a large body of evidence, which indicates that physical activity is associated with a reduced risk of chronic disease and all-cause mortality. The inclusion of devices to objectively measure physical activity as part of national population health surveys in Canada has broadened the scope of options for physical activity surveillance. However, the lack of agreement between measured and self-reported estimates of physical activity has created a surveillance challenge. Data from the 2016 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS)indicate that almost half of Canadian adults report that they were at least moderately active in their leisure time, whereas accelerometer-measured data from the 2014-to-2015 Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) indicate that only 17% meet the current PAG. Differences in the presence of, and degree of association between, self-reported and accelerometer-measured physical activity as this relates to health add an additional challenge to reconciling the differences between methods. [Full Text]
Authors
Rachel C. Colley (rachel.colley@canada.ca) and Didier Garriguet are with the Health Analysis Division of Statistics Canada, in Ottawa, Ontario. Gregory Butler, Stephanie A. Prince and Karen C. Roberts are with the Centre for Surveillance and Applied Research at the Public Health Agency of Canada, in Ottawa, Ontario. Stephanie A. Prince is also with the Division of Cardiac Prevention and Rehabilitation at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, in Ottawa, Ontario.
Start of text box
What is already known on this subject?
- Self-reported and accelerometer-measured physical activity levels generally exhibit low correlation and agreement.
- Previous comparisons between self-reported and accelerometer-measured physical activity using Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) data have exhibited low correlation between methods and large differences in the number of minutes of physical activity accumulated per day and in adherence to physical activity guidelines.
- A new physical activity questionnaire module was adopted in the 2014-to-2015 CHMS with the aim of overcoming some of the limitations observed with previous questionnaire modules.
What does this study add?
- On average, Canadian adults reported more physical activity than they accumulated on the accelerometer.
- The correlation between self-reported data from the new questionnaire module and accelerometer-measured physical activity was low. This finding is consistent with results observed for other questionnaire modules.
- The sum of recreation- and transportation-based physical activity was most closely aligned with accelerometer-measured data.
- This study confirms previous reports that questionnaires and accelerometers measure different aspects of physical activity and therefore should not be used interchangeably.
End of text box
- Date modified: