ArticleArchives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique2015
How well do physical activity questions perform? A European cognitive testing study.
Article in Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
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
25 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Validity and Reliability of International Physical Activity Questionnaires for Adults across EU Countries: Systematic Review and Meta Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Pooled it
- Does squatting need attention?-A dual-task study on cognitive resources in resistance exercise.PloS one · 2020Trial
- A multilevel approach for promoting physical activity in rural communities: a cluster randomized controlled trial.BMC public health · 2019Trial
- Validation of a single question for assessment of habitual physical activity in women.Journal of patient-reported outcomes · 2025Article
- Impact of Diet and Exercise Behaviors on Body Mass Index of Advanced Practice Nurses in the United States.Nutrients · 2025Article
- To Identify and Compare ActivPAL Objectively Measured Activity Levels With Self-Reported Activity From the International Physical Activity Questionnaire in Older Adults With Intellectual Disability.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARID · 2025Article
- Reliability and Validity of Self-Reported Questionnaires Assessing Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in Finland.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Household Food Insecurity Is Associated With Physical Activity in Youth and Young Adults With Diabetes: A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of physical activity & health · 2024Article
- Translation to German and linguistic validation of the Rapid Assessment of Physical Activity (RAPA) questionnaire.Journal of patient-reported outcomes · 2023Article
- Do Fitter Children Better Assess Their Physical Activity with Questionnaire Than Less Fit Children?International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Criterion validity of the Saltin-Grimby Physical Activity Level Scale in adolescents. The Fit Futures Study.PloS one · 2022Article
- The association between self-reported physical activity and objective measures of physical activity in participants with newly diagnosed bipolar disorder, unaffected relatives, and healthy individuals.Nordic journal of psychiatry · 2021Article
- Yes, no, maybe so: the importance of cognitive interviewing to enhance structured surveys on respectful maternity care in northern India.Health policy and planning · 2020Article
- The validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Physical Activity Scale for Individuals with Physical Disabilities (PASIPD)Turkish journal of medical sciences · 2019Article
- European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) 2 - Background and study methodology.Journal of health monitoring · 2019Article
- Educational differences in the prevalence of behavioural risk factors in Germany and the EU - Results from the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) 2.Journal of health monitoring · 2019Article
- Area-level and individual correlates of active transportation among adults in Germany: A population-based multilevel study.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Active Commuting to University and its Association with Sociodemographic Factors and Physical Activity Levels in Chilean Students.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2019Article
- Article
- A Cross-Sectional Examination of Physical Activity Levels and Their Socio-Demographic Determinants in Southern Tanzania.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOnly few studies have focused on the cognitive processes of the respondents that are involved when answering physical activity questionnaires (PAQs). This study aimed at examining whether two PAQs work as intended with different segments of the survey population in different cultural settings in Europe.
methodsThe International Physical Activity Questionnaire - Short Form (IPAQ-SF) and the US National Health Interview Survey - Adult Core Physical Activity Questionnaire (NHIS-PAQ) were tested in Belgium, Estonia, Germany and the UK using a standardized cognitive interviewing procedure. IPAQ-SF measures total vigorous physical activity (PA), moderate PA, walking and sitting. NHIS-PAQ measures leisure-time vigorous PA, light and moderate PA and muscle-strengthening PA. In total 62 persons completed cognitive interviews, at least 15 interviews were conducted in each country.
resultsBoth PAQs performed as intended with young and high-skilled persons and those having a regular exercise schedule. For the others, however, the testing revealed that problems occurred with both PAQs relating to understanding the concepts of '(light and) moderate' and 'vigorous' PA, classifying activities into the provided answer options of different PA intensities, recalling instances of 'normal' activities such as walking and sitting, and calculating the total duration of more than one activity or instance of an activity. The revealed problems with the questionnaires were quite similar in different countries; profound cultural differences were not observed.
conclusionsBoth questionnaires were difficult to answer for many respondents and rather user-unfriendly. They are designed to measure an exactness of PA quantity (frequency and duration) and intensity which would be desirable to obtain from a scientific point of view; however, respondents can hardly provide this information for cognitive reasons. Studies investigating the respondents' perspective are useful for improving physical activity information based on self-reports.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.