Reliability and Validity of a Brief Tool to Measure Children's Physical Activity

We assessed the validity and reliability of a modified Godin-Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire in youth in grades 6 through 8.

The questionnaire was completed by 250 children twice at a 1 wk interval to assess reliability. After the second questionnaire administration the children wore an accelerometer for 7 d (criterion measure).

Pearson correlations between the first and second reports of frequency of participation in strenuous and moderate physical activity were 0.68 and 0.51, respectively. Self-reported participation in strenuous activity was weakly correlated with strenuous activity as measured by accelerometer (r = 0.23, P = 0.01). A weak non-significant correlation was found between reported versus measured engagement in moderate activity (r = 0.13, P = 0.07).

Findings suggest the questionnaire evaluated in this study may be of very limited use for assessing children's physical activity.