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Physical A ctivity Q uestionnaire for children and adolescents: E nglish norms and cut‐off points
Author(s) -
Voss Christine,
Ogunleye Ayodele A,
Sandercock Gavin RH
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
pediatrics international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.49
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1442-200X
pISSN - 1328-8067
DOI - 10.1111/ped.12092
Subject(s) - medicine , normative , cardiorespiratory fitness , population , physical activity , reference values , categorization , developmental psychology , demography , clinical psychology , gerontology , physical therapy , psychology , environmental health , philosophy , epistemology , sociology
Background The Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents ( PAQ ‐ C /‐ A ) provides general estimates of physical activity levels. Following recent expert recommendations for using the PAQ for population surveillance, the aim of this paper was twofold: first, to describe normative PAQ data for E nglish youth; and second, to determine a criterion‐referenced PAQ ‐score cut‐off point. Methods Participants ( n = 7226, 53% boys, 10–15 years) completed an anglicized version of the PAQ . Peak oxygen uptake ( VO 2peak ) was predicted from PACER lap count according to latest FITNESSGRAM standards and categorized into “at‐risk” and “no‐risk” for metabolic syndrome. R OC curves were drawn for each age–sex group to identify PAQ scores, which categorized youth into “sufficiently active” versus “low‐active” groups, using cardiorespiratory fitness as the criterion‐referenced standard. Results PAQ scores were higher in boys than in girls and declined with age. Mean PAQ score was a significant, albeit relatively weak (area under the curve < 0.7) discriminator between “at‐risk” and “no‐risk.” PAQ scores of ≥2.9 for boys and ≥2.7 for girls were identified as cut‐off points, although it may be more appropriate to use lower, age‐specific PAQ scores for girls of 13, 14 and 15 years (2.6, 2.4, 2.3, respectively). Conclusion The normative and criterion‐referenced PAQ values may be used to standardize and categorize PAQ scores in future youth population studies.