A Novel Scale of Lifestyle Physical Activity: Measure Description and Intervention Responsiveness

Lifestyle physical activity (LPA) interventions emphasize small bouts of movement that can be flexibly integrated into one's everyday routine. Despite research illustrating benefits for LPA on health outcomes, few LPA interventions and measurement tools have been developed and tested. The purpose of this study was to present a novel LPA self-report scale, including its content, scoring, and internal consistency reliability, and summarize its intervention responsiveness. The LPA scale was administered in a pilot randomized controlled trial that tested a 12-week LPA + Fitbit intervention against a health education (HE) control (matched to LPA + Fitbit on contact time) in a sample of 50 women with depression in alcohol treatment. The LPA scale includes 22 items covering five domains relevant to LPA. Results demonstrated good internal consistency reliability for the total score (ω = 0.84) but poor-to-acceptable internal consistency reliability for the domain scores (ω range: 0.43-0.80). Participants randomized to the LPA + Fitbit intervention had significantly greater improvements in the LPA total score and two domain scores compared to HE participants. Overall, results demonstrate good internal consistency reliability and intervention responsiveness of the LPA scale total score. A larger, more comprehensive psychometric evaluation is needed for validation of this scale.