Validity and Reliability of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire in College Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the validity and reliability of the self-administered International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) short form in college students. One hundred twenty-three undergraduate students (20.8 ± 1.5 years of age, 76% Caucasian, 74% female) wore an accelerometer and pedometer at their waists for seven consecutive days and completed the IPAQ at the end of the week. Approximately 4–6 days later they completed the IPAQ again, recalling their physical activity during the week they wore the monitoring devices. Spearman correlation coefficients and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated to examine criterion validity and stability reliability respectively. Criterion validity correlation coefficients ranged from 0.15 to 0.26 for total weekly time spent in physical activity from the IPAQ and values from the accelerometer and pedometer. The ICCs between the two administrations of the IPAQ ranged from 0.71–0.89. The results of this study indicate that the validity indices of the questionnaire were similar to other self-report physical activity questionnaires and the stability reliability of the questionnaire was acceptable. Health education and promotion professionals can confidently use this questionnaire to assess college students' participation in physical activity.