El Cuestionario Internacional de Actividad Física. Un instrumento adecuado en el seguimiento de la actividad física poblacional

Abstract

Objective

describing the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, in order to justify its application in physical activity programs.

Material and methods

reviewing notable studies that have used the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, a description will make about the feature and psychometric properties of it, to understand its ways of application.

Results

There are different instruments to be applied, depending on the number of questions to make, the time of evaluation, and method of application. They can be applied in people from 18 to 65 years old. The short version gives information about the time spending in walking, in strong, soft, and even sedentary activities. The long version gives information about house keeping and gardening activities, and even in transport, free time, and sedentary activities. On the other hand, the psychometric properties, for the long version, have been shown a reliability of about 0.8 (r = 0.81; CI 95 % = 0.79-0.82) and of 0.65 (r = 0.76; CI 95% = 0.73-0.77) for the short one. The observed validity coefficients suggest that both IPAQ versions have a moderate confiability (r = 0.67; CI 95% = 0.64-0.70).

Conclusions

The short IPAQ version can be applied in regional and national studies of physical activity where surveillance and monitoring of people are required. The long one is better on studies that required specific information on the physical activity dimentions.