Reproducibility and relative validity of the short questionnaire to assess health-enhancing physical activity

Wendel-Vos, G.C.Wanda; Schuit, A.Jantine; Saris, Wim H.M.; Kromhout, Daan

doi:10.1016/S0895-4356(03)00220-8

« Previous Next »Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
Volume 56, Issue 12 , Pages 1163-1169, December 2003

Reproducibility and relative validity of the short questionnaire to assess health-enhancing physical activity

G.C.Wanda Wendel-Vos
- Department for Chronic Diseases Epidemiology, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands
- Division of Human Nutrition and Epidemiology, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 8129, 6700 EV, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +31-(0)30-274-3321; fax: +31-(0)30-274-4407.
A.Jantine Schuit
- Department for Chronic Diseases Epidemiology, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands
Wim H.M. Saris
- Nutrition and Toxicology Research Institute (NUTRIM), Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD, Masstricht, The Netherlands
Daan Kromhout
- Department for Chronic Diseases Epidemiology, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands

Accepted 15 May 2002.

Abstract

Objective

The purpose of this study is to determine reproducibility and relative validity of the Short QUestionnaire to ASsess Health-enhancing physical activity (SQUASH).

Methods

Participants (36 men and 14 women, aged 27–58) were asked to complete the SQUASH twice with an inbetween period of approximately 5 weeks. In addition, participants wore the Computer Science and Applications (CSA) Activity Monitor for a 2-week period following the first questionnaire.

Results

The Spearman correlation for overall reproducibility of the SQUASH was 0.58 (95%-CI 0.36–0.74). Correlations for the reproducibility of the separate questions varied between 0.44 and 0.96. Spearman's correlation coefficient between CSA readings and the total activity score was 0.45 (95%-CI 0.17–0.66).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the SQUASH is a fairly reliable and reasonably valid questionnaire and may be used to order subjects according to their level of physical activity in an adult population. Because the SQUASH is a short and simple questionnaire, it may proof to be a very useful tool for the evaluation of health enhancing physical activity in large populations.

Keywords: Reproducibility, Relative validity, Questionnaire, Physical activity, Accelerometer, Guideline