Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 8, 2026
Visualization of Intensity Levels to Reduce the Gap Between Self-Reported and Directly Measured Physical Activity
Published on: March 7, 2019
Utility of computer-assisted approaches for population surveillance of physical activity
MeLisa Creamer1, Heather R Bowles, Belinda von Hofe
1Dept of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas School of Public Health, Austin, TX.
Background:
Computer-assisted techniques may be a useful way to enhance physical activity surveillance and increase accuracy of reported behaviors.
Purpose:
Evaluate the reliability and validity of a physical activity (PA) self-report instrument administered by telephone and internet.
Methods:
The telephone-administered Active Australia Survey was adapted into 2 forms for internet self-administration: survey questions only (internet-text) and with videos demonstrating intensity (internet-video). Data were collected from 158 adults (20-69 years, 61% female) assigned to telephone (telephone-interview) (n = 56), internet-text (n = 51), or internet-video (n = 51). Participants wore an accelerometer and completed a logbook for 7 days. Test-retest reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Convergent validity was assessed using Spearman correlations.
Results:
Strong test-retest reliability was observed for PA variables in the internet-text (ICC = 0.69 to 0.88), internet-video (ICC = 0.66 to 0.79), and telephone-interview (ICC = 0.69 to 0.92) groups (P-values < 0.001). For total PA, correlations (ρ) between the survey and Actigraph+logbook were ρ = 0.47 for the internet-text group, ρ = 0.57 for the internet-video group, and ρ = 0.65 for the telephone-interview group. For vigorous-intensity activity, the correlations between the survey and Actigraph+logbook were 0.52 for internet-text, 0.57 for internet-video, and 0.65 for telephone-interview (P < .05).
Conclusions:
Internet-video of the survey had similar test-retest reliability and convergent validity when compared with the telephone-interview, and should continue to be developed.
