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Concurrent validity of a modified version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-A) in European adolescents: The HELENA Study

International Journal of Obesity volume 32, pages S42–S48 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Introduction:

The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was developed to measure health-enhancing physical activity in adult populations. This study explores the concurrent validity of a modified version of the long IPAQ (the IPAQ-A) for the assessment of physical activity among adolescents.

Participants and methods:

In total, 248 healthy adolescents, divided into one older and one younger age group (aged 15–17 years (N=188) and 12–14 years (N=60), respectively) from nine Healthy Lifestyle by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) Study centres across Europe, voluntarily participated in the study. Data on total physical activity, as well as activities in different intensities derived from the IPAQ-A, were compared using Spearman's correlation coefficient and Bland–Altman analysis, with data from an accelerometer. Tertiles of total physical activity for the IPAQ-A and the accelerometer were compared using Kendall's tau-b.

Results:

For the older age group, significant correlations between the instruments were found for time spent walking, for moderate and vigorous activities as well as for total physical activity (Rs=0.17–0.30, P<0.05). No significant correlations were found for any of the variables studied in the younger age group. Kendall's tau-b showed low but significant correlations for tertiles of total physical activity (P<0.001).

Conclusions:

The IPAQ-A has reasonable validity properties for assessing activities in different intensities and for total physical activity in healthy European adolescents aged 15–17 years. For adolescents aged 14 years and younger, the correlations were unsatisfactorily low and objective methodology, such as accelerometry, may be the appropriate alternative.

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Acknowledgements

The HELENA Study was carried out with the financial support of the European Community Sixth RTD Framework Programme (Contract FOOD-CT-2005-007034) and of the Stockholm County Council. The content of this paper reflects only the authors’ views, and the European Community is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. FBO is supported by CSD (Ref: 109/UPB31/03 and 13/UPB20/04) and the FPU-Spanish Ministry of Education (Ref: AP-2004-2745) grants. J Pablo Rey Lopez is supported by Fundacion Cuenca Villoro. The researchers from the University of Zaragoza, Spain (JPRL) are complementarily supported by FUNDACIÓN MAPFRE (Spain). We thank the adolescents for their participation. A copy of the modified IPAQ questionnaire can be downloaded from the HELENA website.

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Author notes

  1. M Hagströmer, P Bergman, I De Bourdeaudhuij, F B Ortega, J R Ruiz, Y Manios, J P Rey-López, K Phillipp, J von Berlepsch and M Sjöström: See Appendix at the end of the supplement on page S82.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Unit for Preventive Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    M Hagströmer, P Bergman, F B Ortega, J R Ruiz & M Sjöström

  2. Department of Movement and Sport Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    I De Bourdeaudhuij

  3. Department of Medical Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Granada, Granada, Spain

    F B Ortega & J R Ruiz

  4. Department of Nutrition & Dietetics, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece

    Y Manios

  5. Escuela Universitaria de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain

    J P Rey-López

  6. Division of Nutrition and Metabolism, Department of Pediatrics, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    K Phillipp

  7. CIC 9301 CH&U-Inserm Lille, Therapeutic and Predictive Medicine Institute, Lille, France

    J von Berlepsch

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on behalf of the HELENA Study Group

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Correspondence to M Hagströmer.

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Hagströmer, M., Bergman, P., De Bourdeaudhuij, I. et al. Concurrent validity of a modified version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-A) in European adolescents: The HELENA Study. Int J Obes 32 (Suppl 5), S42–S48 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2008.182

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