Validity of the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) in adult Latinas

Valid and reliable self-report measures of physical activity (PA) are needed to evaluate the impact of interventions aimed at increasing the levels of PA. However, few valid measures for assessing PA in Latino populations exist.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the GPAQ is a valid measure of PA among Latinas and to examine its sensitivity to intervention change. Intervention attendance was also examined.

Baseline and postintervention data were collected from 72 Latinas (mean age = 43.01; SD = 9.05) who participated in Caminando con Fe/Walking with Faith, a multilevel intervention promoting PA among church-going Latinas. Participants completed the GPAQ and were asked to wear the accelerometer for 7 consecutive days at baseline and again 6 months later. Accelerometer data were aggregated into 5 levels of activity intensity (sedentary, light, moderate, moderate-vigorous, and vigorous) and correlated to self-reported mean minutes of PA across several domains (leisure time, work, commute and household chores).

There were significant correlations at postintervention between self-reported minutes per week of vigorous LTPA and accelerometer measured vigorous PA (r = .404, P < .001) as well as significant correlations of sensitivity to intervention change (post intervention minus baseline) between self-reported vigorous LTPA and accelerometer-measured vigorous PA (r = .383, P < .003) and self-reported total vigorous PA and accelerometer measured vigorous PA (r = .363, P < .003).

The findings from this study suggest that the GPAQ may be useful for evaluating the effectiveness of programs aimed at increasing vigorous levels of PA among Latinas.