Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 22, 2026
Physical Activity Measurement in Children Accepting Table Tennis Training
Published on: July 27, 2022
Validation of the Actical Accelerometer in Multiethnic Preschoolers: The Children's Healthy Living (CHL) Program
Reynolette Ettienne1, Claudio R Nigg1, Fenfang Li1
1University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Department of Human Nutrition, Food, and Animal Sciences, Honolulu, HI (RE, FL, YS, KM, AT, CC, JM, RN).
Insights
The Actical accelerometer accurately measures physical activity (PA) in preschool children. This study found accelerometers to be a valid and reliable tool compared to traditional methods for assessing children's activity levels.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Exercise Science
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Accurate measurement of physical activity (PA) in preschoolers is crucial for understanding health behaviors.
- Traditional methods like parental reports (PA Logs) and direct observation (SOFIT) have limitations in objectivity and feasibility.
- Accelerometers offer a potential objective and reliable alternative for PA assessment in young children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the validity and reliability of the Actical accelerometer for measuring PA in mixed-ethnicity preschoolers.
- To compare accelerometer data with direct observation (SOFIT) and parental reports (PA Logs).
Main Methods:
- Fifty mixed-ethnicity preschoolers in Hawai'i participated.
- Children wore Actical accelerometers for two 7-day periods.
- Concurrent direct observation using a modified SOFIT protocol and completion of PA Logs by parents were performed.
Main Results:
- The Actical accelerometer demonstrated slight agreement with SOFIT (82% agreement) and PA Logs (40% agreement).
- PA Logs tended to underestimate children's PA levels.
- The Actical accelerometer was found to be a valid and reliable tool for estimating PA in this population.
Conclusions:
- Accelerometers provide objective, valid, and accurate PA assessment for mixed-ethnicity preschoolers.
- Accelerometers are superior to conventional PA logs and subjective reports for this age group.
- This supports the use of accelerometers in research and clinical settings for pediatric PA monitoring.
Abstract:
This study aimed to determine the validity and reliability of the Actical accelerometer for measuring physical activity (PA) in preschool children of mixed ethnicity, compared with direct observation via a modified System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time (SOFIT) protocol and proxy parental reports (PA Logs). Fifty children in Hawai'i wore wrist-mounted accelerometers for two 7-day periods with a washout period between each week. Thirty children were concurrently observed using SOFIT. Parents completed PA Logs for three days. Reliability and validity were measured by intra-class correlation coefficient and proportions of agreement concurrently. There was slight agreement (proportion of agreement: 82%; weighted Kappa=.17, P <.001) between the accelerometer and SOFIT as well as between the accelerometer and the PA Logs (proportions of agreement: 40%; weighted Kappa=0.15, P <.001). PA logs underestimated the PA levels of the children, while the Actical was found to be valid and reliable for estimating PA levels of multiethnic, mixed ethnicity preschoolers. These findings suggest that accelerometers can be objective, valid, and accurate physical activity assessment tools compared to conventional PA logs and subjective reports of activity for preschool children of mixed ethnicity.
