Measuring physical activity and sedentary behaviors in women with young children: a systematic review

Current evidence indicates that women with young children are less active than women without children. In this review the authors investigated the methods of measuring physical activity employed in studies of women with young children (aged 1-5 years) and the associated challenges in measurement. Articles from databases (MEDLINE, OVID, CINAHL, Google Scholar) and manual searches were limited to English peer-reviewed journals published from 1990 to 2010. Studies that included measurement of physical activity in samples of women with young children were selected. Measurement properties were extracted, and original reliability and validity articles were reviewed for physical activity measurement tools used by 15 samples. The evidence base was dominated by self-report measurement tools, many of which assessed leisure-time physical activity only. Use of motion sensors to assess physical activity in this population was limited. It is likely that much of the habitual physical activity performed by women with young children has not been captured by self-report measures. Further investigation should be undertaken using tools that capture adequately all health-enhancing physical activity among women with young children.