A physical activity questionnaire for the elderly

Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1991 Aug;23(8):974-9.

Abstract

A validated physical activity questionnaire for young adults was adapted and validated for use in free living, apparently healthy people, aged 63-80 yr. Test-retest reliability of the questionnaire on 29 participants was 0.89 as determined by Spearman's correlation coefficient. Further classification by tertiles of activity resulted in 72% of the participants being correctly classified and 0% grossly misclassified on two separate occasions. In a similar group of 31 subjects, classifications based on questionnaire activity scores were compared with classifications obtained by repeated 24-h activity recalls and pedometer measurements, showing Spearman's correlations of 0.78 and 0.73, for both methods, respectively. Seventy-one and 67% of the subjects, respectively, were classified in the same activity tertile for both methods. It is concluded that the questionnaire provides a reliable and valid method for classifying elderly subjects into categories of high, medium, and low physical activity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Activities of Daily Living
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Exercise*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Leisure Activities
  • Male
  • Mental Recall
  • Middle Aged
  • Nutritional Status
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Surveys and Questionnaires*