Reproducibility of a self-administered lifetime physical activity questionnaire among female college alumnae

Abstract

Recent epidemiologic evidence suggests that lifetime physical activity is an important factor in the development of many chronic diseases. The authors assessed the reproducibility of a self-administered physical activity questionnaire designed to assess the duration, frequency, and intensity of lifetime household and recreational activities. The study was conducted among 134 female college alumnae from two colleges in western Massachusetts who were aged 39-65 years in 1998. A modified version of the Historical Leisure Activity Questionnaire was used to assess physical activity over four prior age periods (menarche to 21 years and 22-34, 35-50, and 51-65 years). The questionnaire was administered to participants by mail twice 1 year apart. The intraclass correlation coefficients used to measure reproducibility were 0.82 for total lifetime physical activity, 0.80 for lifetime moderate-intensity activities, 0.86 for lifetime vigorous-intensity activities, 0.87 for lifetime recreational activities, and 0.78 for lifetime household activities. Correlations were 0.73 for total activity during the earliest prior age period (menarche to 21 years), 0.70 for ages 22-34 years, 0.78 for ages 35-50 years, and 0.83 for ages 51-65 years. These data indicate that this physical activity questionnaire is reproducible and provides a useful measure of average lifetime activity.