Validity of a questionnaire evaluating physical activity level in young children

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Health
• Exercise Science
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Accurate assessment of physical activity in children is crucial for public health.
• Parental reporting is a common method for gathering data on children's physical activity.
• Validating these parent-reported measures against objective data is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the validity of a parent-completed questionnaire for assessing physical activity in young children.
• To determine if questionnaire items correlate with objective physical activity measurements.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire with three items (activity preference, peer comparison, time spent) was administered to parents of 21 first-grade boys.
• Objective physical activity was measured using an instrument tracking steps and energy expenditure.
• Linear regression analysis was used to assess the questionnaire's contribution to objective indices.

Main Results:

• Parental reports on physical activity preference showed significant associations with all objective measures.
• Comparison of a child's activity to peers correlated with total energy expenditure.
• Time spent on exercise activity was related to total steps and exercise energy expenditure.

Conclusions:

• The studied questionnaire items are valid for assessing physical activity levels in young children.
• These validated questionnaire items are suitable for large-scale epidemiological surveys.
• Parental reporting provides a reliable method for evaluating children's physical activity.