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

• Physical activity assessment
• Methods
• Questionnaire
• Indication

Indication

PAQs provide data on the frequency, duration, mode and intensity of physical activity in the various domains of activity i.e. house, occupation, leisure and transport.  The domain and mode of activity are not obtained when using objective measurements of physical activity such as accelerometry and heart rate monitoring.

The primary outcome depends on the questionnaire; it may be the number of bouts or time spent in activities of varying self-reported intensities; some tools provide qualitative information (types of activities).  A secondary outcome may be an estimation of energy expenditure during physical activities estimated by ascribing METs to reported activities for specified durations.  PAQs are not valid to estimate energy expenditure at individual level and they have varying validity for categorising individuals into groups and ranking activity levels. 

Global self reports are suitable for large-scale epidemiological studies and can be used as a screening tool in clinical settings.  Recall questionnaires are used in descriptive epidemiological studies and in surveillance studies. Historical questionnaires are appropriate for etiological studies looking at the role of physical activity in disease prevention.

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