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Updated: Jun 16, 2026
Visualization of Intensity Levels to Reduce the Gap Between Self-Reported and Directly Measured Physical Activity
Published on: March 7, 2019
Disparities in data on Healthy People 2010 physical activity objectives collected by accelerometry and self-report
Sandra A Ham1, Barbara E Ainsworth
1Divinity School, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA. saham@uchicago.edu
Objectives:
We compared findings on physical activity from national accelerometry data and Healthy People 2010 self-report data to identify differences in disparities by sociodemographic characteristics, gender, age, race/ethnicity, education level, and disability status.
Methods:
Data were from the 2003 to 2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey's accelerometry and the Healthy People 2010 Midcourse Review. We computed prevalence of inactivity and regular moderate- and vigorous-intensity movement according to Healthy People 2010 operational definitions.
Results:
Mexican American adults were more active than non-Hispanic Blacks and Whites, and groups defined by race/ethnicity and educational attainment were more similar in physical activity in accelerometer than in self-report data. Disparities by gender and disability status were consistent with Healthy People 2010.
Conclusions:
Disparities in physical activity differ from previous findings. Increased understanding of these disparities should be used to design better and more cost-effective physical activity interventions. Physical activity surveillance methods should be revised to make use of data collection methods that are more valid than self-report.
