Research
Commentary
Practical Guide to Measuring Physical Activity

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Self-Report Questionnaires

These questionnaires are the most common method of physical activity assessment13 and rely on participants' recall ability. Questionnaires vary by what they measure (eg, mode, duration, or frequency of physical activity), how data are reported (eg, activity scores, time, or kilocalories), quality of the data (eg, measures of intensity, differentiating between habitual and merely recent activities, and inclusion of leisure and nonleisure activity), and how data are obtained (eg, paper and pencil

Conclusions

Physical activity is a multidimensional construct and there is no measure that can assess all facets of physical activity. Thus, investigators should approach physical activity measurement selection with a clear concept of the type of data they intend to collect. For many studies, combining multiple physical activity assessments is recommended8, 116; however, it is possible that multiple measures may not be necessary if an investigator is only interested in one facet of physical activity. Given

L. G. Sylvia is an assistant professor of psychology, Bipolar Clinic and Research Program, The Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.

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    L. G. Sylvia is an assistant professor of psychology, Bipolar Clinic and Research Program, The Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.

    E. E. Bernstein is a clinical research coordinator, Bipolar Clinic and Research Program, The Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.

    J. L. Hubbard is a dietitian, Clinical Research Center, The Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.

    E. J. Anderson is director of metabolism & nutrition research, Clinical Research Center, The Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.

    L. Keating is a registered dietitian, Clinical Center for Investigation, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston, MA.

    STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST L. G. Sylvia was a shareholder in Concordant Rater Systems and serves as a consultant for United Biosource Corporation and Clintara. She also received royalties from New Harbinger.

    FUNDING/SUPPORT This project was partially supported by (1) grant no. 1 UL1 RR025758-04 from the Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center; (2) grant no. 8 UL1TR000170-05 from the National Center for Research Resources; (3) funds from the Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center and the National Center for Advancing Translational Science; and (4) grant no. 5K23MH091182-02 from the Nutrition/Weight Loss, Exercise, Wellness Treatment for Bipolar Disorder Program of the National Institute of Mental Health.

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