Physical Activity Checklist Validation Study in Brazilian School Children, 2009

A 2009 study in Sao Paulo, Brazil, assessed the validity of the Physical Activity Checklist questionnaire against accelerometer data. The study involved 118 school children aged seven to ten years from primary grades two to five. It was conducted by Fernando Adami of Universidade de São Paulo.

Use Cases

• Validate self-reported physical activity questionnaires based on accelerometer data.
• Assess operational equivalence of cross-culturally adapted health instruments based on interview duration and evaluation metrics.
• Analyze correlations between questionnaire-derived metabolic costs and device-measured activity levels.
• Study potential overestimation of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in children's self-reports.

Strengths

• Validation uses a criterion measure (accelerometer) with quantified variables like total physical activity counts per minute.
• Study reports concrete metrics: Pearson correlation coefficients ranged from 0.34 to 0.40.
• Operational details are provided, including an average interview duration of 24 minutes (sd=5 min).
• Sample size of 118 children is specified with clear age and grade ranges.

Limitations

• Row count and column-level documentation are unknown; data structure must be inferred.
• Data is from a single city and year (Sao Paulo, 2009), which may limit generalizability.
• The interview item for children's ability to estimate time showed poor or fair results in 24.8% of cases, indicating a potential measurement weakness.

Provenance

Source

Fernando Adami, Universidade de São Paulo

Collection Method

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation study comparing a questionnaire (Physical Activity Checklist Interview) with accelerometer data.

Time Range

2009

Geography

Sao Paulo, SP, Southeastern Brazil