Intra-individual variability in physical activity of children as measured by the Bouchard's physical activity diary : How many days of monitoring are needed?:

Summeren, J.J.G.T. (2012) Intra-individual variability in physical activity of children as measured by the Bouchard's physical activity diary : How many days of monitoring are needed?:. thesis, Human Movement Sciences.

Text Summeren.pdf Restricted to Registered users only Download (16MB)

Abstract

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to estimate the magnitude of day-to-day variability, as determined by the Bouchard's physical activity diary, to give an advice on how many days and what type of days (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday etc.) are needed to estimate habitual physical activity in children. METHODS: Bouchard's physical activity diary data of 7 consecutive days were obtained from 109 healthy primary school children in the age of 8-12 years. Seven day physical activity, in this study classified as habitual physical activity, was compared with estimates of physical activity derived fro.m combinations between 1 to 6 days of monitoring using several statistical techniques. RESULTS: The results showed that physical activity varied substantial between days within a week and between subjects. First, the present study showed that 6 randomly taken days, without the restriction that a specific weekday (Sunday, Monday etc.) can only be in the sample once, were needed to estimate time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and 12 randomly taken days were needed to estimate physical activity level {PAL). Second, the present study showed that when days are taken from one week, meaning the same weekday can only be in the sample once, 4 days were needed to reliably estimate habitual time spent in MVPA and 5 days were needed to estimate habitual PAL. Considering the day-to-day variability, Thursday and Monday were the worst predictors of habitual physical activity. CONCLUSIONS: To estimate habitual physical activity in children with the Bouchard's physical activity diary a sample of 4 and 5 days from one week are needed to reliably measure time spent in MVPA and PAL respectively. Future studies have to investigate the effect of sample size to examine whether fewer days are needed in studies with large sample sizes e.g. in epidemiological studies.

Item Type:	Thesis (Thesis)
Supervisor name:	Mouton, U. and Schoemaker M.A.
Supervisor name:	Lelieveld O.T.H.M and Bos G.J.F.J. and Center for Human Movement Science, University Medical Center
Faculty:	Medical Sciences
Date Deposited:	25 Jun 2020 11:00
Last Modified:	25 Jun 2020 11:00
URI:	https://umcg.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/2006

Actions (login required)

View Item