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Development and Validation Study of a Screening Questionnaire to Identify People Who Are Physically Inactive
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  • Eero Kenttä,
  • Harri Sievänen,
  • Anastasiya Verho,
  • Minna Paajanen,
  • Timo Lukkarinen,
  • Henri Vähä-Ypyä,
  • Jani Raitanen,
  • Kari Tokola,
  • Tommi Vasankari,
  • Jari Parkkari
Eero Kenttä
City of Helsinki

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Harri Sievänen
UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research
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Anastasiya Verho
City of Helsinki
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Minna Paajanen
City of Helsinki
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Timo Lukkarinen
City of Helsinki
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Henri Vähä-Ypyä
UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research
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Jani Raitanen
UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research
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Kari Tokola
UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research
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Tommi Vasankari
UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research
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Jari Parkkari
UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research
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Abstract

Objective: Insufficient physical activity (PA) is a well-known risk factor for many non-communicable diseases. This study aimed to develop a screening tool to identify physically inactive people at the population level and to help social and health care professionals promote physical activity among people at risk. Methods: Eighty-five healthy adults wore a hip-worn accelerometer for seven days, after which they completed several PA questionnaires. These included some novel and several validated questions on PA. The reliability of individual questions to identify physically inactive people was assessed by correlation analysis. Logistic regression analysis was used to find the combination of questions which best identified physically inactive people. Results: The highest correlation of the screening questionnaire with the accelerometer was 0.46 (p < 0.001) for sedentary behavior and 0.42 (p < 0.001) for total physical activity, respectively. The best pair of questions on total physical activity identified 64% of all inactive subjects (MVPA < 150 min/week) based on accelerometer data. Conclusions: The questionnaires developed for screening PA have a poor correlation with the accelerometer data. The screening questionnaires roughly describe PA level among middle-aged participants, but if a more sensitive or specific method is needed, device-based measurements are recommended.
16 Sep 2024Submitted to Public Health Challenges
23 Sep 2024Submission Checks Completed
23 Sep 2024Assigned to Editor
03 Nov 2024Reviewer(s) Assigned