Reliability and Validity of the Self- and Interviewer-Administered Versions of the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ)

Abstract

Objective: The Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) was originally designed to be interviewer-administered by the World Health Organization in assessing physical activity. The main aim of this study was to compare the psychometric properties of a self-administered GPAQ with the original interviewer-administered approach. Additionally, this study explored whether using different accelerometry-based physical activity bout definitions might affect the questionnaire's validity.

Methods: A total of 110 participants were recruited and randomly allocated to an interviewer- (n = 56) or a self-administered (n = 54) group for test-retest reliability, of which 108 participants who met the wear time criteria were included in the validity study. Reliability was assessed by administration of questionnaires twice with a one-week interval. Criterion validity was assessed by comparing against seven-day accelerometer measures. Two definitions for accelerometry-data scoring were employed: (1) total-min of activity, and (2) 10-min bout.

Results: Participants had similar baseline characteristics in both administration groups and no significant difference was found between the two formats in terms of validity (correlations between the GPAQ and accelerometer). For validity, the GPAQ demonstrated fair-to-moderate correlations for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) for self-administration (rs = 0.30) and interviewer-administration (rs = 0.46). Findings were similar when considering 10-min activity bouts in the accelerometer analysis for MVPA (rs = 0.29 vs. 0.42 for self vs. interviewer). Within each mode of administration, the strongest correlations were observed for vigorous-intensity activity. However, Bland-Altman plots illustrated bias toward overestimation for higher levels of MVPA, vigorous- and moderate-intensity activities, and underestimation for lower levels of these measures. Reliability for MVPA revealed moderate correlations (rs = 0.61 vs. 0.63 for self vs. interviewer).

Conclusions: Our findings showed comparability between both self- and interviewer-administration modes of the GPAQ. The GPAQ in general but especially the self-administered version may offer a relatively inexpensive method for measuring physical activity of various types and at different domains. However, there may be bias in the GPAQ measurements depending on the overall physical activity. It is advisable to incorporate accelerometers in future studies, particularly when measuring different intensities of physical activity.

Fig 1. Flowchart of participants’ recruitment.

Fig 2. Bland-Altman plots for the agreement of physical activity measurement (min/day) between the GPAQ and accelerometer.

Comparisons of total-minute of activity versus a 10-minute bout definition at each of three intensities: MVPA, vigorous-, and moderate- intensity activities for the total sample (n = 108).