Age- and Sex-Specific Criterion Validity of the Health Survey for England Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Assessment Questionnaire as Compared With Accelerometry

Thecriterionvalidityofthe2008PhysicalActivityandSedentaryBehaviorAssessmentQuestionnaire(PASBAQ) was examined in a nationally representative sample of 2,175 persons aged ≥16 years in England using accelerometry. Usingaccelerometerminutes/day greater than orequalto 200countsas acriterion, Spearman’s correlation coefficient (ρ)forPASBAQ-assessedtotalactivitywas0.30(95%confidenceinterval(CI):0.25,0.35)inwomenand 0.20 (95% CI: 0.15, 0.26) in men. Correlations between accelerometer counts/minute of wear time and questionnaireassessed relative energy expenditure (metabolic equivalent-minutes/day) were higher in women (ρ= 0.41, 95% CI: 0.36, 0.46) than in men (ρ= 0.32, 95% CI: 0.26, 0.38). Similar correlations were observed for minutes/day spent in vigorousactivity(women: ρ= 0.39,95%CI:0.33,0.46;men: ρ= 0.31,95%CI:0.26,0.36)andmoderate-to-vigorous activity (women: ρ= 0.42, 95% CI: 0.36, 0.48; men: ρ= 0.38, 95% CI: 0.32, 0.45). Correlations for time spent being sedentary (<100 counts/minute) were 0.30 (95% CI: 0.24, 0.35) and 0.25 (95% CI: 0.19, 0.30) in women and men, respectively.Sedentarybehaviorcorrelationsshowednosexdifference.Thevalidityofsedentarybehaviorandtotal physical activity was higher in older age groups, but validity was higher in younger persons for vigorous-intensity activity. The PASBAQ is a useful and valid instrument for ranking individuals according to levels of physical activity and sedentary behavior. accelerometry; physical activity; questionnaires; sedentary behavior; validation