Reliability of the telephone-administered International Physical Activity Questionnaire in an Italian pilot sample

Authors

  • Alice Mannocci “Sapienza” University of Rome
  • Claudio Bontempi “Sapienza” University of Rome
  • Vittoria Colamesta “Sapienza” University of Rome
  • Filippo Ferretti “Sapienza” University of Rome
  • Guglielmo Giraldi “Sapienza” University of Rome
  • Annamaria Lombardi “Sapienza” University of Rome
  • Angela Meggiolaro “Sapienza” University of Rome
  • Anna Miani “Sapienza” University of Rome
  • Silvia Miccoli “Sapienza” University of Rome
  • Annalisa Rosso “Sapienza” University of Rome
  • Rosella Saulle “Sapienza” University of Rome
  • Brigid Unim “Sapienza” University of Rome
  • Antonio Boccia “Sapienza” University of Rome
  • Giuseppe La Torre “Sapienza” University of Rome

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2427/8860

Abstract

Background: the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) is an instrument for crossnational monitoring of physical activity and inactivity. The aim of the study was the reliability evaluation of the Italian telephone-administered IPAQ version in Rome.

Methods: the IPAQ short form (IPAQ-SF), consisting of 7 items, was administered. The responses, used to compute Metabolic Equivalent Task (MET in minutes per week), were processed to analyze the internal consistency. Standardized Cronbach’s alpha was used for reliability estimation.

Results: a total of 133 adults (51 males and 82 females) participated in the study, with a mean age of 51 years (SD=19). The mean MET was 4 130, corresponding to good physical activity levels. The standardized Cronbach’s alpha on 6 items, concerning time spent on vigorous and moderate activity and walking, was 0.614.

Conclusions: according to the findings from other countries, the Italian IPAQ-SF has acceptable measurement properties, as good as other established self-reports. The IPAQ-SF has a questionable reliability as previously reported, but the results of the present pilot study are promising and suggest that these instruments can be used to compare population estimates of physical activity.

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Published

2022-06-30

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 1 (2014)

Section

Original articles

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.