A scoping review of physical activity measurement tools in free-living conditions

Abstract

Accurate assessment of physical activity becomes essential in terms of health outcome and effectiveness of health-enhanced intervention programmes. This paper systematically describes and compares up-to-date methods to assess habitual physical activity and discusses main issues regarding the use and interpretation of data collected with these techniques in free-living conditions. A search strategy was employed using PubMed Central database with limits set to include articles from 2007 to 2017. Data were reviewed, extracted and assessed by two researchers, with disagreements being resolved by a third researcher, with their respective definition, usual applications, advantages, and shortcomings. It is concluded that no single current technique is able to quantify all aspects of physical activity under free-living conditions, requiring the use of complementary methods. A validated questionnaire is usually the preferred method in free-living conditions for population-based samples, but when measuring effects this should be combined with an objective measurement instruments. The choice of method depends predominantly on the aim of the measurement, and the availability of personnel, time and financial resources.