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Addressing overreporting on the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) telephone survey with a population sample

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

Randy Rzewnicki ,
Yves Vanden Auweele  and
Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij
Randy Rzewnicki*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Physical Education and Physical Therapy, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Tervuursevest 101, B3000 Leuven, Belgium:
Yves Vanden Auweele
Affiliation:
Faculty of Physical Education and Physical Therapy, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Tervuursevest 101, B3000 Leuven, Belgium:
Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij
Affiliation:
Department of Movement and Sport Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
*
*Corresponding author:: Email [email protected].
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Abstract

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Objective:

To examine a possible problem of overreporting and to describe the degree of error with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) short telephone protocol.

Design:

Cross-sectional study, using two different physical activity (PA) self-report protocols.

Setting:

Telephone interviews about PA in Belgium.

Subjects:

Fifty adults who had previously been interviewed with IPAQ in a national survey.

Results:

Seventy-five per cent reported less PA with the modified procedure than with the IPAQ. Twenty-three of the 50 individuals were found to have reported some amounts of PA with the IPAQ (either walking, or vigorous or moderate PA) when they should have reported none. In total, based on their revised reports of PA, 50% fewer persons met PA recommendations than was the case with IPAQ. The overreporting could not be related to types of error-prone individuals.

Conclusions:

Overreporting of PA in population samples is a serious problem that could be reduced by implementing procedure changes without changing the IPAQ items themselves.

Keywords

IPAQOverreportingTelephone surveyPhysical activity monitoring
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 6 , Issue 3 , June 2003 , pp. 299 - 305
Copyright
Copyright © CAB International 2003

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