Convergent validity of a questionnaire for assessing physical activity in Spanish adolescents with overweight

Objective: To evaluate the convergent validity of the PAQ-A for assessing physical activity (PA) in overweight (including obese) adolescents. Material and method: Two hundred and three Spanish adolescents (96 females), aged 13-17 years, were selected for this study. Levels of PA were self-reported by 3-day activity diary, activity rating and PAQ-A. Adolescents wore the ActiGraph accelerometer for 7 days. Overweight was classified according to International Obesity Task Force age- and sex-specific body mass index cut offs. Results: Fifty-four (33 male and 21 female) adolescents (27%) were classified as overweight or obese. The PAQ-A was moderately related in the overweight adolescent group to an activity rating (rho=0.52), total PA and moderate-to-vigorous PA assessed by activity monitor (rho=0.52 and 0.43) and total PA and moderate-to-vigorous PA assessed by activity diary (rho=0.32 and 0.47). There were no significant differences in the correlation coefficients between non-overweight and overweight adolescents. Conclusion: The PAQ-A shows a reasonable validity for assessing PA in Spanish overweight adolescents. (C) 2010 Elsevier Espana, S.L. All rights reserved.