Self-report measures and scoring protocols affect prevalence estimates of meeting physical activity guidelines

Purpose: Prevalence estimates of meeting the guidelines for physical activi ty based on various self-report measures were compared. and the effects of various scoring protocols on the estimates were evaluated. Method: A sample of 575 university students aged 24.5 +/- 1.9 yr (56% women, 54% Euro-Ameri can) completed the Seven-Day Physical Activity Recall interview (PAR), Yout h Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), and National Health Interview Survey 1991 (N HIS). To determine the prevalence of meeting the ACSM (1990) fitness and th e CDC/ACSM (1995) health-related guidelines, various scoring protocols were employed that closely approximated the recommendations. Protocols varied b y whether frequency and duration or duration only were considered. For the health-related guidelines, scoring protocols also varied depending on the i ntensity of activities considered. Results: Depending on the scoring protoc ol and instrument used, the proportion meeting the fitness guidelines range d from 32 to 59%. The NHIS, YRBS, and PAR resulted in significantly differe nt proportions of those meeting the health-related guideline, ranging from 4 to 70%. Conclusion: The type of measure as well as the scoring protocol a ffected prevalence estimates of meeting the physical activity guidelines. T his study indicates the difficulty of comparing prevalence rates across stu dies using different measures.