Evaluation Measures

International Physical Activity Questionnaire

- Short Form
OVERVIEW TARGET POPULATION

• This measure assesses the types of intensity of physical • Youth 15 years of age and older
activity and sitting time that people do as part of their daily lives are considered to estimate total physical
• 7 items
• Open-ended questions surrounding individuals’ last
SUBSCALES 7-day recall of physical activity
• None • Self-report, paper-pencil version or orally
• Sample items from the scale: • Available in: English and many other languages
» During the last 7 days, on how many days did you do
vigorous physical activities like heavy lifting, digging, DEVELOPER
aerobics, or fast bicycling?
activity in MET-min/week and time spent sitting.LENGTH & HOW IT IS MEASURED

• International Physical Activity Questionnaire, 1998

STEPPING UP THEME(S) & OUTCOME(S)

• Health & Wellness

» Youth are physically healthy

GOOD TO KNOW LEARN MORE

• Used by the Ontario Trillium Foundation • Reliability

• Click here for Guidelines for Data Processing and Test-rest reliability indicated good stability
Analysis of the International Physical Activity
High reliability (α <.80)
Questionnaire (IPAQ) - Short Form
• Validity
PSYCHOMETRICS Predictive validity
Concurrent validity
 Convergent validity • Lee, P.H., Macfarlane, D.J., Lam, T.H., Stewart, S.M.
Criterion validity (2011). Validity of the international physical activity
questionnaire short form (IPAQ-SF): A systematic
Discriminant validity
review. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition
• International Physical Activity Questionnaire. (2016). and Physical Activity. 8:115.
Home. Retrieved from
https://sites.google.com/site/ theipaq/ • van Poppel MNM, Chinapaw MJM, Mokkink LB, van
Mechelen W, Terwee CB: Physical activity
• C.L. Craig, A. Marshall, M. Sjostrom, A. Bauman, questionnaires for adults: A systematic review of
M. Booth, B. Ainsworth, et al. International Physical measurement properties. Sports Medicine. 2010, 40:
Activity Questionnaire: 12-country reliability and 565-600. 10.2165/11531930-00000000000000.
validity. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 35 (2003), pp.
1381–1395

INTERNATIONAL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY QUESTIONNAIRE

(August 2002)

SHORT LAST 7 DAYS SELF-ADMINISTERED FORMAT

FOR USE WITH YOUNG AND MIDDLE-AGED ADULTS (15-69 years)

The International Physical Activity Questionnaires (IPAQ) comprises a set of 4 questionnaires. Long (5
activity domains asked independently) and short (4 generic items) versions for use by either telephone or
self-administered methods are available. The purpose of the questionnaires is to provide common
instruments that can be used to obtain internationally comparable data on health–related physical activity.

Background on IPAQ
The development of an international measure for physical activity commenced in Geneva in 1998 and was
followed by extensive reliability and validity testing undertaken across 12 countries (14 sites) during 2000.
The final results suggest that these measures have acceptable measurement properties for use in many
settings and in different languages, and are suitable for national population-based prevalence studies of
participation in physical activity.

Using IPAQ
Use of the IPAQ instruments for monitoring and research purposes is encouraged. It is recommended that
no changes be made to the order or wording of the questions as this will affect the psychometric properties
of the instruments.

Translation from English and Cultural Adaptation

Translation from English is supported to facilitate worldwide use of IPAQ. Information on the availability of
IPAQ in different languages can be obtained at www.ipaq.ki.se. If a new translation is undertaken we highly
recommend using the prescribed back translation methods available on the IPAQ website. If possible
please consider making your translated version of IPAQ available to others by contributing it to the IPAQ
website. Further details on translation and cultural adaptation can be downloaded from the website.

Further Developments of IPAQ

International collaboration on IPAQ is on-going and an International Physical Activity Prevalence Study
is in progress. For further information see the IPAQ website.

SHORT LAST 7 DAYS SELF-ADMINISTERED version of the IPAQ. Revised August 2002.
More Information
More detailed information on the IPAQ process and the research methods used in the development of IPAQ
instruments is available at www.ipaq.ki.se and Booth, M.L. (2000). Assessment of Physical Activity: An
International Perspective. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 71 (2): s114-20. Other scientific
publications and presentations on the use of IPAQ are summarized on the website.
INTERNATIONAL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY QUESTIONNAIRE
We are interested in finding out about the kinds of physical activities that people do as part of their everyday
lives. The questions will ask you about the time you spent being physically active in the last 7 days.
Please answer each question even if you do not consider yourself to be an active person. Please think
about the activities you do at work, as part of your house and yard work, to get from place to place, and in
your spare time for recreation, exercise or sport.
Think about all the vigorous activities that you did in the last 7 days. Vigorous physical activities refer to
activities that take hard physical effort and make you breathe much harder than normal. Think only about
those physical activities that you did for at least 10 minutes at a time.
1. During the last 7 days, on how many days did you do vigorous physical activities like heavy lifting,
digging, aerobics, or fast bicycling?
_____ days per week
No vigorous physical activities Skip to question 3
2. How much time did you usually spend doing vigorous physical activities on one of those days?
_____ hours per day _____ minutes per day Don’t know/Not sure
Think about all the moderate activities that you did in the last 7 days. Moderate activities refer to activities
that take moderate physical effort and make you breathe somewhat harder than normal. Think only about
those physical activities that you did for at least 10 minutes at a time.
3. During the last 7 days, on how many days did you do moderate physical activities like carrying light
loads, bicycling at a regular pace, or doubles tennis? Do not include walking.
_____ days per week
No moderate physical activities Skip to question 5
4. How much time did you usually spend doing moderate physical activities on one of those days?
_____ hours per day _____ minutes per day Don’t know/Not sure
Think about the time you spent walking in the last 7 days. This includes at work and at home, walking to
travel from place to place, and any other walking that you have done solely for recreation, sport,
exercise, or leisure.
5. During the last 7 days, on how many days did you walk for at least 10 minutes at a time?
_____ days per week
No walking Skip to question 7
6. How much time did you usually spend walking on one of those days?
_____ hours per day _____ minutes per day Don’t know/Not sure
The last question is about the time you spent sitting on weekdays during the last 7 days. Include time
spent at work, at home, while doing course work and during leisure time. This may include time spent
sitting at a desk, visiting friends, reading, or sitting or lying down to watch television.
7. During the last 7 days, how much time did you spend sitting on a week day?
_____ hours per day _____ minutes per day Don’t know/Not sure

SHORT LAST 7 DAYS SELF-ADMINISTERED version of the IPAQ. Revised August 2002.