• Indication
• Pros and cons
• Practical considerations
• Resources required
• References
• Examples and links

• Physical activity assessment
• Methods
• Diary or log
• Pros and cons

Pros and cons

Pros

• Diaries and logs provide detailed and comprehensive information about the physical activity undertaken in a day across all domains
• Bouts of physical activity can be quantified
• Patterns of activity can be identified
• The method is prospective so does not rely on recall and memory
• Activity diaries provide the best subjective method to estimate of energy expenditure
• Diaries and logs are inexpensive to administer

Cons

• The diaries and logs impose a considerable respondent burden
• The level of compliance required makes the method unsuitable for younger children (under 10 years)
• The data processing is reasonably complex and time consuming, logs may be easier to process than diaries
• Undertaking a physical activity diary or log may influence an individual’s behaviour i.e. a reactivity effect where the act of monitoring activity causes an individual to increase their activity, this may be especially problematic in intervention studies
• Respondents may not comply with instructions to complete the diary or log prospectively
• The estimate of energy expenditure due to physical activity will not be as accurate as by an objective measure such as accelerometry or combined motion sensor

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