[Reliability of a questionnaire for measuring physical activity and sedentary behavior in children from preschool to fourth grade]
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Diana Marina Camargo1, Stefany Santisteban1, Erika Paredes1
1Grupo de Investigación Movimiento, Armonía y Vida, Escuela de Fisioterapia, Facultad de Salud, Universidad Industrial de Santander.
Insights
This study validated a questionnaire assessing physical activity and sedentary behaviors in young children. The findings indicate the instrument reliably captures data for children under 10, aiding public health research.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Behavioral Science
- Psychometrics
Background:
- Accurate measurement of physical activity and sedentary behaviors is crucial for public health initiatives in early childhood.
- International guidelines necessitate validated instruments to track population trends and intervention effectiveness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the reliability of a novel questionnaire designed for measuring physical activity and sedentary behaviors.
- To evaluate the psychometric properties of the instrument in preschool to fourth-grade children.
Main Methods:
- A parent-reported questionnaire was administered to 108 participants.
- The instrument collected data on physical activities (e.g., walking to school, sports) and sedentary behaviors (e.g., screen time, sleep).
- Reliability was determined using Cronbach's alpha, Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC), and Bland and Altman analysis.
Main Results:
- Internal consistency for physical activity and sedentary behaviors showed varied results (Cronbach's alpha 0.22–0.64).
- High reproducibility was observed for walking to school (ICC 0.69) and organized sports (ICC 0.76).
- Sedentary behaviors like motorized transport (ICC 0.8) and computer use (ICC 0.59) also demonstrated good reliability.
Conclusions:
- The questionnaire provides reliable data on physical activity and sedentary behaviors for children under 10.
- This validated instrument can be utilized for epidemiological studies and intervention programs in Latin America and beyond.
Introduction:
International recommendations for physical activity and time spent in sedentary behaviors for children in their early years require the availability of measuring instruments with psychometric properties that allow for the assessment of population dynamics and interventions to improve health.
Objective:
To evaluate the reliability of a questionnaire to measure physical activity and sedentary behaviors in children from preschool to fourth grade.
Materials And Methods:
One hundred and eight parents answered the questionnaire. The instrument included socio-demographic variables, as well as those associated with physical activity, including time walking to school, organized sports and playtime activities. Sedentary behaviors included motorized transport to school, reading and "screen time", sleeping and extracurricular courses. Internal consistency, reproducibility and agreement were evaluated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient, the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and the Bland and Altman limits of agreement method, respectively.
Results:
Internal consistency for physical activity ranged from 0.59 to 0.64, and for sedentary behaviors between 0.22 and 0.34. The highest reproducibility was found for walking to school and time spent on this (kappa=0.79, ICC 0.69), and organized sports, and time on this activity (kappa=0.72, ICC 0.76). Among sedentary behaviors, motorized transport to school and computer use showed kappas of 0.82 and 0.71, respectively; additionally, the time spent on these behaviors showed an ICC of 0.8 and 0.59, respectively. We found limits of agreement between moderate and good for reading time, napping, extracurricular courses, computer and console use.
Conclusion:
The questionnaire provided reliable information on the physical activity and sedentary behaviors in children under 10 years of age and could be used in other Latin American countries.
