Examining the validity and reliability of the Chinese version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, long form (IPAQ-LC)

Abstract

Objective To investigate the reliability and the validity of the long format, Chinese version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-LC).Design Cross-sectional study, examining the reliability and validity of the IPAQ-LC compared with a physical activity log (PA-log) and objective accelerometry. Setting Self-reported physical activity (PA) in Hong Kong adults. Subjects A total of eighty-three Chinese adults (forty-seven males, thirty-six females) were asked to wear an ActiTrainer accelerometer (MTI-ActiGraph, Fort Walton Beach, FL, USA) for >10 h over 7 d, to complete a PA-log at the end of each day and to complete the IPAQ-LC on day 8. On a sub-sample of twenty-eight adults the IPAQ-LC was also administered on day 11 to assess its reliability. Results The IPAQ-LC had good test-retest reliability for grouped activities, with intra-class correlation coefficients ranging from 074 to 097 for vigorous, moderate, walking and total PA, with between-test effect sizes that were small (<049). The Spearman correlation coefficients were statistically significant for vigorous PA (r = 028), moderate + walking PA (r = 027), as well as overall PA (r = 035), when compared with the accelerometry-based criterion measures, but none of the IPAQ activity categories correlated significantly with the PA-log. In absolute units, only the IPAQ light and overall PA did not differ significantly from the accelerometry measures, yet overall PA was able to faithfully discriminate between quartiles of PA (P = 0019) when compared to accelerometry. Conclusions The IPAQ-LC demonstrated adequate reliability and showed sufficient evidence of validity in assessing overall levels of habitual PA to be used on Hong Kong adults. © 2010 The Authors.