Feasibility of a novel web-based physical activity questionnaire for young children

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Public Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Accurate assessment of physical activity in early childhood is crucial for understanding its long-term health implications.
• Existing methods for assessing physical activity in young children may have limitations.
• There is a need for validated, accessible tools to measure physical activity in this age group.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate the feasibility and reproducibility of a novel web-based questionnaire, KidActive-Q, designed to assess physical activity in early childhood.
• To establish KidActive-Q as a reliable tool for researchers and clinicians.

Main Methods:

• Development of KidActive-Q, a web-based questionnaire for parents of young children.
• Assessment of feasibility and test-retest reproducibility in a sample of 20 children aged 2-6 years.
• Data collection via email distribution of the questionnaire on two separate occasions.

Main Results:

• KidActive-Q demonstrated high feasibility, with parents reporting it as easy to complete (median completion time: 2.5 minutes).
• Good test-retest reliability was observed for key metrics: time spent outdoors (ICC=0.60) and time watching television (ICC=0.85).
• This represents the first web-based questionnaire specifically designed for assessing physical activity in very young children.

Conclusions:

• KidActive-Q is a user-friendly and reproducible tool for assessing physical activity in early childhood.
• The questionnaire's feasibility and reliability support its use in research and clinical settings.
• KidActive-Q addresses a gap in validated tools for measuring physical activity in this critical developmental period.