HSN719 Assessment Methods For Nutrition And Physical Activity Research

Introduction 

Physical activity is defined as any body movement caused by skeletal muscles that lead to the expenditure of energy ¹. Studies have demonstrated the existence of an inverse relationship between physical activity and the incidences of chronic disorders ².

Moreover, studies have underscored the health benefits of physical activity both in children and adults ³. Physical activity has been found to be significant in weight control and in reducing the risk factor associated with lifestyle diseases ^4. This necessitates the need for accurate measurements of physical activity to examine the improvement or decline in physical activity levels of the population and the individual nutritional needs ⁵. ⁶ observes that any measure of physical activity has to be valid, reliable and responsive.

Target Population

Adolescence is a transitional period from childhood to adulthood and ranges from 12 to 24 years. This phase of change is significant because of the psychological, social and biological changes that take place in addition to the development of unhealthy behaviors in this period ⁷. Different physical patterns are also experienced during this transition phase. The study by ⁸ on the physical patterns in adolescents specified that boys were physically active than girls at all times whether at school or during holidays. Boys demonstrated high physical activity levels on weekdays than on weekends. ⁹ also reported that gender played a critical role in differential involvement in physical activity. Girls were inspired by the social prospects that are brought about by sports whereas boys are motivated for competitive elements of games, hence the reason for differential involvement in physical activity.

There exist multiple methods of self-reports instruments that measure physical activity in adolescents and children. However, it is significant the cons and pros of each are considered before selection ¹⁰. Physical Activity Questionnaire (PAQ), the Previous Day Physical Activity Recall (PDPAR), accelerometer, and heart rate monitors are examples of self-report instruments. The PAQ is an essential self-report instrument that is developed to evaluate physical activity for the previous week. This instrument measures general to average levels of physical activity during a week at school ¹¹. Heart rate monitors are used to approximate level of physical activity by monitoring the heart rate and is dependent on the linear association between oxygen intake and heart rate.  Accelerometers are complex computerized tools that measure the accelerations generated by skeletal movements. The PDPAR is an electronic self-report tool aimed at recording the physical activity patterns of children in the previous day at school from 3 pm to 11 pm.

The objective of this paper to ascertain the most appropriate methods of measuring physical activity among the 150 senior students of age 15-17 years at Bellara College. This paper will recommend two most proper instruments to measure physical activity at the college alongside the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Proposed Methods to measure physical activity in the target group 

This report recommends two significant instruments of measuring physical activity in young adults of Bellara College. Following the assessment of the needs of the students regarding physical activity, two methods have been proposed namely physical activity questionnaire and ACTIVITYGRAM.   

Method one: Physical Activity Questionnaire (PAQ)

The PAQ is a basic self-report instrument developed to evaluate the activity of the previous week. Two forms of PAQ exist namely the PAQ for bigger teenagers (PAQ-C) and a PAC for older adults (PAQ-A). The PAQ-C is tailor-made for primary students aged between 8 and 14 years whereas the PAQ-A is developed for older adults or adolescents of ages 14 to 20. The two versions are both prepared to determine general to average vigorous levels of physical activity during a typical week at school ¹¹. However, for the case study, the PAQ-A will be used. The PAQ-A comprises eight elements or questions each rated at a 5-point scale. The mean of the scores is determined to provide an aggregate score with the highest value showing the highest level of activity. Question one of the PAQ-A is about the physical activity checklist with approximately twenty various types of sports and exercise activities probing the participants to respond to the number of times they are engaged in each event for the previous seven days of the week. The following six questions assess the student’s level of activity in different environments at a specific time in the last week. Item eight requires the participant to provide a summary of their overall levels of events based on five statements.

The major limitation of PAQ is that it doesn’t generate a significant resulting measure like energy usage or time taken in physical activity. Moreover, it only emphasizes the activities at school and not suitable for evaluating physical activity over the holidays. On the other hand, it is efficient and takes little time, can be used to improve recall ability by administering it in the evening and at lunch break. The test-retest reliability of the tool was assessed by ¹² has shown good correlation coefficients. ¹³ also reported high correlation coefficients for physical activity of the instrument. The above two studies are evidence enough to use it for it has adequate item-scale features, internal consistency, reliability and is seasonal variations. All eligible students will be requested to fill the PAQ-A tool in the classroom as from 10:00 am for about 20 min. The questionnaires will be administered by selected teachers who will have undergone training ¹¹.

Method two: ACTIVITYGRAM

The ACTIVITYGRAM evaluation is an electronic physical activity self-report tool which is a section of the FITNESSGRAM software program designed by the Cooper Institute ¹⁴. It is developed the standardized self-report instrument called the Previous Day Physical Activity Recall (PDPAR). This method uses an analogous grid structure that is time-based (every half an hour) and utilizes four similar classes of strength (hard, medium, light and rest) with distinctive features.  The tool has an activity pyramid with six types of activities (flexibility, skeletal activity, rest, lifestyle, aerobic sports, and activity). The participants can select only a single activity amongst the five. The tool also permits the participants to show whether the time taken by the activity.  Moreover, the instrument can measure activity level for the entire day (7 am to 11 pm) ¹⁴.

The ACTIVITYGRAM has strengths and weaknesses. The main advantage of the tool is that the computerized version of it is convenient for collecting data because it is keyed into the software instead of manual entry. It also has an inbuilt feedback system to allow the instructors to help train the students and their parents regarding the standard level of physical activity. The review by ¹⁵ showed that ACTIVITYGRAM had a criterion validity of r=0.43 and convergent validity with PDPAR of r=0.44. ¹⁶ conducted a convergent and criterion validation research on ACTVIVITYGRAM and PDPAR and cautioned of the moderately high variability in the correlations between the instruments of measurements.  However, the ACTIVITYGRAM takes 20-30 minutes to complete in addition to some preparatory time to show the students how it is used. It also may be difficult for the students to recall the specific nature of their physical activity within particular times. The noticeable differences according to the author are due to inherent weaknesses in the environment and not with the instrument.

A teacher or an administrator will first be required to create the evaluation, and then the students will view and enter data. The student will be instructed by the administrator on how to access the ActivityGram.  A printed user-guided with illustrations and designed for students will be provided to help them in accessing the website. The guideline will demonstrate how to access activitygram, how to enter activity data, and viewing of activitygram results

Conclusion 

This report recommends the use of two methods namely physical activity questionnaire and ACTIVITYGRAM. The PAQ for adults has been chosen to measure the average level of physical activity for Bellara college students. This approach has been chosen because of its high correlation coefficients for physical activity, thus increasing its validity and reliability. Secondly, the test-retest reliability has been tested and proven by ¹². The method is also efficient and time-saving, therefore, making it very applicable in school settings. It is also easy to administer after a simple training. This implies that it is less costly thus economical for the institution. The ACTIVITYGRAM method will also be used because it is a computerized version that will require entering in of data instead of manual entry. Moreover, the convergent and criterion validity tests by ¹⁵ indicate that the instrument has minimal internal errors except for those that maybe as a result of the environment. Therefore, the physical activity level of the senior adults at Bellara College will appropriately be determined using the two approaches.

References 

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