Abstract
Objectives: This paper describes the development of a physical activity questionnaire (PAQ) designed for Chinese adolescents and their mothers in urban and rural settings, and reports on results of the PAQ, pedometry, and hand grip dynamometry from the Chinese Children and Families Cohort Study pilot investigation (CFCS). Methods: As part of a pilot investigation to evaluate the feasibility to follow-up and obtain detailed nutrition, dietary, physical activity, and ultraviolet radiation (UVR) data from CFCS participants, data were collected in 2013 for 93 adolescent/mother pairs from a rural (n = 41) and an urban site (n = 52) in two provinces. Respondents were asked to wear a pedometer for seven days (Omron HJ-151), use a Takei Digital Grip Strength Dynamometer on (each hand; three trials; two separate days), and complete a 39 item, eight domain PAQ covering the past year. Self-reported physical activity (PA) was linked to metabolic equivalent of task (MET) scores in kcal/kg/hr and used to calculate METs for different domains of PA and intensity categories. Results: Compliance was high (95%) in this measurement protocol administered by health staff during a series of data collection efforts at home and local clinics or health centers. Step counts were highly variable, averaging between 5000 and 10000 per day with somewhat higher step counts in rural adolescent boys. Maximum grip strength (Kgs) was greater in children (Mean = 36.5, SE = 0.8) than mothers (Mean = 28.8, SE = 0.8) and similar in the urban (Mean = 29.6, SE = 0.6) compared to the rural (Mean = 29.6, SE = 0.5) communities overall. Grip strength, step counts, and measures of time spent in different activities or activity intensities were uncorrelated. Conclusion: Device and question-based measurement of PA and strength were readily accepted in these Chinese urban and rural populations. The PAQ on physical activity in the past year produced some plausible population averages, but individual responses suggested recall challenges. If data about specific activities are required, future studies should explore use of standardized survey questions concerning such fewer specific activities or instruments examining shorter time periods such as one, three, or seven day recalls.
Highlights
Physical activity (PA), including aerobic, muscle, and bone-strengthening activities are linked to a wide variety of positive developmental and health outcomes in children and youth
This paper reports on the physical activity (PA) portion of the Chinese Children and Families Cohort Study pilot investigation (CFCS) which was conducted in two phases
We developed a past year, 39 item, eight domain physical activity recall questionnaire designed for administration to both adolescent and mother participants (Supplementary Tables S1 and S2)
Summary
Physical activity (PA), including aerobic, muscle-, and bone-strengthening activities are linked to a wide variety of positive developmental and health outcomes in children and youth. For youth over six years, meeting the PA guidelines of 60 min of moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) per day contributes to aerobic fitness, bone health and cognitive function, but is linked to improved biomarkers related to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and reduced risk of such conditions in adulthood [2]. Valid and reliable instruments have been developed to measure diverse aspects of physical activity using several approaches including proxy and self-report, device-based measurement with pedometry and accelerometry, and measures of performance such as dynamometry, ergometry, and flexibility testing [6,7,8,9]. Device-based measures using accelerometers can capture bodily movements that are correlated with total activity levels but currently cannot measure the types of diverse activities that can be captured with self or proxy reports using standardized survey questions, 24-hour and multiday day recalls, or diaries [6,9]. Relatively few studies exist that attempt to develop and evaluate a suite of PA measures using several different approaches in concert
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