Publication
Validation of the physical activity questions in the world health organization health behavior in school-aged children survey using accelerometer data in Japanese children and adolescents
Publisher:
Human Kinetics
Date:
02-2021
DOI:
10.1123/JPAH.2019-0671
Abstract: Background : An international physical activity (PA) questionnaire is beneficial to make cross-country comparisons among children and adolescents. This study assesses the validity of the PA questions in the World Health Organization Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (WHO HBSC) survey in Japanese children and adolescents. Methods : Participants were fifth- to sixth-grade Japanese primary school students (67 students aged 10.8 [0.5] y) and first- to third-grade junior high school students (108 students aged 13.0 [0.7] y). The Japanese version of the PA questions in the WHO HBSC (WHO HBSC-J) was used. To assess the validity of the PA questions, the authors used a partial correlation adjusted for sex, age, and relative weight between the answers to the survey questions and objectively measured moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) by an accelerometer. Results : A significant positive correlation was found between accelerometer-measured MVPA and the number of reported days with at least 60 minutes/day of MVPA in primary school students ( r = .39, P = .002) and junior high school students ( r = .32, P .001). Conclusion : The HBSC-J has moderate validity for evaluating MVPA in Japanese primary school and junior high school students.