ArticleCanadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique2015
Self-report Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire overestimates physical activity.
Article in Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Physical Activity during Pregnancy and Newborn Body Composition: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Physical Activity Questionnaires for Pregnancy: A Systematic Review of Measurement Properties.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2018Pooled it
- The influence of physical activity during pregnancy on maternal, fetal or infant heart rate variability: a systematic review.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2016Pooled it
- Trial
- Changes in self-reported and accelerometer-measured physical activity among pregnant TRICARE Beneficiaries.BMC public health · 2022Trial
- Examining the Impact of Preconception Physical Activity on Offspring Outcomes Linked to Obesity.Current obesity reports · 2026Review
- Health behaviors in women conceiving by medically assisted reproduction vs natural conception: A cross-sectional study of 23,334 nulliparous women.Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica · 2025Article
- Estimating energy requirements from Dietary Reference Intakes for pregnant people with obesity using wearables.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2025Article
- Impact of Physical Activity of Pregnant Women on Obstetric Outcomes.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Misreporting of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in Parents-to-Be: A Validation Study across Sex.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Physical activity differentially regulates VEGF, PlGF, and their receptors in the human placenta.Physiological reports · 2021Article
- Cross-Validation of Ratings of Perceived Exertion Derived from Heart Rate Target Ranges Recommended for Pregnant Women.International journal of exercise science · 2020Article
- Walking for health during pregnancy: A literature review and considerations for future research.Journal of sport and health science · 2019Review
- Energy Intake Requirements in Pregnancy.Nutrients · 2019Review
- Sensor Measures of Symmetry Quantify Upper Limb Movement in the Natural Environment Across the Lifespan.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation · 2019Article
- The introduction of simple cardiorespiratory fitness testing in overweight/obese type 2 diabetics: a pilot study.Primary health care research & development · 2018Article
- Trimester-Specific Dietary Intakes in a Sample of French-Canadian Pregnant Women in Comparison with National Nutritional Guidelines.Nutrients · 2018Article
- The Need to Objectively Measure Physical Activity During Pregnancy: Considerations for Clinical Research and Public Health Impact.Maternal and child health journal · 2018Article
- Reliability and concurrent validity of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire short form among pregnant women.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2017Article
- Physical activity during pregnancy and infant's birth weight: results from the 3D Birth Cohort.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2017Article
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4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesPhysical activity (PA) research during pregnancy relies heavily on indirect/subjective measures of PA, which may be less accurate than directly measured PA. We tested whether the Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire (PPAQ) could accurately estimate PA by comparing PPAQ results to directly measured PA.
methodsIn a sample of 29 women who completed the PPAQ, PA was directly measured in the second trimester of pregnancy using Actical® accelerometers (valid day = 10+ hours; 4-7 valid days). Activity variables from the PPAQ were calculated using all questions, and also by only considering the leisure time section. Women were classified as 'active' or 'non-active' using Canadian PA guidelines for adults (150 minutes moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA)/ week, bouts of 10+ minutes). Bonferroni corrections were used to adjust for multiple comparisons. Data presented as mean ± standard deviation or median (interquartile range).
resultsThe PPAQ overestimated MVPA by 12.12 (14.34) hours/week in the combined sample, and the difference remained substantial when investigating the non-active [overestimate = 11.54 (10.10) hrs/wk] and the active women [overestimate = 16 ± 11 hrs/wk] separately. PPAQ-measured PA variables did not correlate with any of their respective Actical®-measured variables (p > 0.008). The leisure time PPAQ questions overestimated MVPA by 1 ± 3 hrs/wk, with a positive correlation between PPAQ-leisure time MVPA and Actical®-measured MVPA (r = 0.565, p = 0.001).
conclusionThe PPAQ significantly overestimates MVPA and does not provide an accurate estimate of PA in pregnancy. While PPAQ leisure time questions may help distinguish trends in PA, data from subjective questionnaires may result in misinterpretation of relationships between prenatal PA and health outcomes.
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