Assessment of Physical Activity in Research and Clinical Practice

Abstract

Depending on the physical activity parameter of interest (e.g., frequency, intensity, duration, energy expenditure), participant population, sample size, data sampling frequency, and study location and duration, researchers and clinicians have many assessment instruments to choose from. Laboratory, field, self-report, and physiological measures are each associated with unique costs and benefits; thus instrument selection should be tailored to the aims of the assessment. If appropriate, combined approaches, such as simultaneously utilizing questionnaire, accelerometer, and physiological data, may yield more and more comprehensive assessment of physical activity patterns than using a single instrument in isolation. The trend for the future may be the use of wearable devices that combine multiple types of data to improve the quantification of physical activity and to reduce participant and investigator burden. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)