Physical activity assessment in population surveys: can it really be simplified?

Background Several studies have used a simplified approach for the assessme nt of physical activity such as the frequency of exercise-induced sweating. In this study leisure-time physical activity has been assessed using this and another more detailed measure. Subjects and Methods A sample of 4171 adults answered the Health Interview Survey of Barcelona in 1992. The respondents were classified into categorie s depending on participation in moderate and/or intense physical activity ( greater than or equal to 20 min) and also according to the frequency of exe rcise-induced sweating: 0, 1-2 and greater than or equal to 3 times/week. A greement between the two measures was calculated using the weighted Kappa ( Kw) statistic with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Stratified analyses w ere performed. Results Prevalence of physical activity greater than or equal to 3 times/we ek was lower with the sweat question (12.5%) than with the questions about the frequency of performance of selected activities (19.6%). The physical a ctivity patterns by age, gender and overweight were similar for the two mea sures, but differed by month of the year. Agreement was lower among the old er age categories and was higher among males (Kw = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.57-0.62) than among females (Kw = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.46-0.50). Overall, the agreement was higher in the hotter months (Kw = 0.72 among males and 0.58 among femal es). Conclusions In the assessment of physical activity in the population by mea ns of the sweat question there can be interference from other variables, ap art from the intensity of the activity, which influence sweating during the exercise. Further assessments of the validity of exercise-induced sweating in representative samples of the general population would be useful.