Evaluation of the physical activity biography: sport and transport

Beside the genetic disposition, physical activity (PA) is one of the major health factors and can play a large role in the prevention and therapy of many diseases (cardiovascular diseases, cancer, obesity-related diseases etc.). In contrast to the genetic disposition, PA can be deliberately influenced by lifestyle. Therefore, it is of high importance to assess PA patterns. In order to assess PA reliably and validly, a new questionnaire (Physical Activity Biography, PAB) was created. The PAB assesses recreational PA (sport and transport) and enables to distinguish between endurance intensity levels and considers strength and high speed activity patterns throughout life. This study aims to evaluate the PAB by means of item analysis, retest-reliability and validity (criteria were physical fitness assessed by the questionnaire FFB-mot and by exercise tests). 141 participants answered the PAB. For deriving retest-reliability, 81 participants completed the PAB after a retest-interval of one month again. 55 participated in exercise tests and answered the FFB-mot to determine construct validity. Retest-reliability (ICC) above 0.7 was found for most items. For the items assessing recent PA, the criteria of convergent and discriminant validity were given. Despite the complexity of the question under study, the results fulfilled the expectations concerning reliability and validity. The PAB enables to assess the amount of sport and locomotion a person has accomplished during different life time frames and, because of the protective effects of PA on various diseases, may become an important tool for risk assessment. Key pointsThe risk of chronic diseases depends largely on physical activity biography.A new questionnaire (PAB) assessing recent and lifetime physical activity was created.The PAB assesses physical activity during sports and transport.The results of the evaluation of the PAB fulfilled the expectations.The PAB enables to determine a person's amount of recreational physical activity.