Objective versus subjective physical activity assessment in a clinical setting of patients with obesity and eating...

Accurate assessment of physical activity supports a comprehensive understanding and treatment of obesity and eating disorders. Here, we assessed the concurrent validity of a questionnaire and accelerometry-based measurements in a clinical setting.

From 2020 to 2022 a total of 23 patients from a psychosomatic clinic participated (21 with unspecified eating disorders, 2 with bulimia nervosa). During the 3rd to 4th week of the clinical stay patients completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form and wore an accelerometer-based multisensory device (SenseWear® Armband, SWA) for 7 days. Outcome measures included total physical activity (MET min·w^-1) and sitting time (min·d^-1). Concurrent validity (SWA as criterion) and proportional bias were assessed using regression analyses.

The questionnaire overestimated physical activity by ~40% (+394 MET min·week^-1) and underestimated sitting time by ~30% (199 min·day^-1) compared to the SWA. Within-patient correlation for physical activity was good (r = 0.88, p < 0.001) but impractical for sitting time (r = 0.41, p = 0.005). Greater inactivity led to greater reporting errors in sitting time (p = 0.005). Males underestimated sitting time more than females (p = 0.026). Converting objective to subjective measures resulted in typical errors of 238 MET min (total physical activity) and 88 min (sitting time).

Objective accelerometer-based multisensory device monitoring should be incorporated into clinical settings to treat patients with obesity and eating disorders.