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Abstract
Physical activity measurement with accuracy and precision is extremely important in establishing the dose-response relationship between levels of physical activity and the different outcome possibilities. Subjective methods of measurement, such as proxy-reports have been used as a possibility to check physical activity in children. The aim of this study was to test the Netherlands Physical Activity Questionnaire (NPAQ), valid for Brazilian schoolchildren using physical aerobic fitness as a criterion. The study included 290 children aged 6-10 years from public schools of Itaúna/MG. NPAQ was applied to parents or guardians and children were tested using the Luc Léger test. NPAQ had mean score of 25 for children (25 for boys and 24 for girls) and VO2max was 50.8 ml/kg/min for children (52.6 and 50.2 ml/kg/min for boys and girls, respectively). The Spearmam correlation test showed significant correlation (rsho = 0.146; p = 0.013) between NPAQ and VO2max, but the correlation is weak (Kappa -0.14). The results showed that NPAQ presented poor construct validity for physical activity measurement in a Brazilian schoolchildren sample, based on aerobic physical fitness criteria.
Highlights
Physical activity measurement with accuracy and precision is extremely important so that a dose-response relationship can be established between levels of physical activity and the different outcome possibilities, involving prevention and control of chronic-degenerative diseases[1]
Several authors have pointed out that there are limitations in the use of subjective instruments, such as difficulty in specifying the intensity of activities performed, difficulties of instruments that measure all the domains that compose the physical activity construct, difficulty in remembering and estimating the intensity of activities performed[4,5,6,7]. These factors could affect the validity in estimating the level of physical activity, especially when it comes to children under 10 years of age[8], and would compromise the results of studies using such instruments, reproducing erroneous dose-response outcomes between levels of physical activity and health[9,10]
Demographic data show that in the sample of 290 students, 158 were male, in the five ages surveyed, the distribution of participants ranged from 13.5% to 25.8%, and 42 participants had low birth weight and 20 were preterm infants, presenting 69.2% of families belonging to socioeconomic classes C1 and C2, with 80.8% of families having 1 to 3 children, and 40.7% of parents with basic education schooling and 8.6% illiterate
Summary
Physical activity measurement with accuracy and precision is extremely important so that a dose-response relationship can be established between levels of physical activity and the different outcome possibilities, involving prevention and control of chronic-degenerative diseases[1]. Objective methods include the measurement of physiological and/or biomechanical variables by means of electronic monitors, double-marked water (deuterium), accelerometers, pedometers, heart rate monitors and combined sensors (heart rate + accelerometer). Despite their great usability, these instruments still have high cost for epidemiological studies. Several authors have pointed out that there are limitations in the use of subjective instruments, such as difficulty in specifying the intensity of activities performed, difficulties of instruments that measure all the domains that compose the physical activity construct, difficulty in remembering and estimating the intensity of activities performed[4,5,6,7] These factors could affect the validity in estimating the level of physical activity, especially when it comes to children under 10 years of age[8], and would compromise the results of studies using such instruments, reproducing erroneous dose-response outcomes between levels of physical activity and health[9,10]
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