Measuring total and domain-specific sitting: a study of reliability and validity

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Independent relationships between sedentary behaviors and health outcomes are established.
• Few studies have evaluated the measurement properties of self-reported sitting time questionnaires.
• Accurate measurement of sitting time is crucial for understanding its health implications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the gender-specific test-retest reliability and validity of a questionnaire measuring domain-specific sitting time.
• To evaluate sitting time across various domains (travel, work, TV, computer, leisure) on weekdays and weekend days.

Main Methods:

• Test-retest reliability was assessed using data from two questionnaire administrations (median 11 days apart).
• Validity was evaluated by comparing self-reported sitting time against log data and accelerometer data.
• Participants included 157 women and 96 men.

Main Results:

• High reliability was observed for weekday sitting time at work, watching television, and computer use (r = 0.78–0.84).
• Reliability for weekend sitting time was generally lower across all domains (r = 0.23–0.74).
• Highest validity was found for weekday sitting time at work and computer use (r = 0.69–0.74); weekend validity was mostly low.

Conclusions:

• Domain- and day-specific sitting time measurement is important.
• The questionnaire demonstrates acceptable measurement properties for structured, domain-specific weekday sitting time.
• These measures can be utilized in future research on the association between sitting behaviors and health outcomes.