Validation of the Greek version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire - Short Form in adults 18-65...

Various tools and methods have been proposed to measure physical activity, with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) being one of the most popular self-reported tools. The study's aim was to test the validity of IPAQ-SF among Greek male and female adults, aged 18-65 years.

A total of 134 adults (98 males) were randomly selected and participated in the study. The mean age of participants was 37.9 years (SD = 11.6), with 73.1% being male. Translation and back-translation was performed to ensure cultural adaptation. The validity of IPAQ-SF was ascertained using fitness measures (maximum oxygen uptake, VO2 max, velocity of VO2 max, maximum heart rate, and heartbeat at 1 min).

Based on the IPAQ-SF, participants engaged in vigorous physical activity for an average of 3 days per week (mean = 68.8 minutes/day), moderate activity for 2.6 days per week (mean = 56.2 minutes/day), and walking for 3.7 days per week (mean = 24.4 minutes/day). The median total MET-minutes/week was 2,751. IPAQ-SF demonstrated moderate validity as modest positive correlations were observed between MET-minutes/week and VO2 max (rho = 0.3096, p < 0.001), and vVO2 max (rho = 0.2511, p = 0.008). IPAQ-SF demonstrated higher validity among females and individuals with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m², with correlations reaching 0.5201 (p < 0.001) for VO2 max in participants with overweight/obesity.

The present validation study suggests IPAQ-SF utility for monitoring physical activity levels in populations with overweight or obesity, while further refinement may be necessary to improve its applicability across all demographic groups.