Ipaq Items - Physical Activity

IPAQ ITEMS - PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

MODULE INFORMATION

PURPOSE OF THE MODULE:

To assess physical activity across a comprehensive set of domains including leisure time, domestic and gardening activities, work-related and transport-related activity. The questionnaire items provide separate scores on walking, moderate-intensity, and vigorous-intensity activity as well as a combined total score to describe overall level of activity.

MODULE HISTORY:

Added to RRFSS: January 2003, Wave25

November 2005, (Wave 59) the scoring protocol for the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was revised. The physical activity indicator was changed from four described physical activity levels (high, moderate, low and inactive) to three described levels (high, moderate and low).

Derived variable is available in the dataset beginning in 2007. Documentation can be found appended to the ISR annual Technical Document.

DATA DICTIONARY HISTORY:

Created: May 9, 2005

Revised:July 13, 2005

Revised: November 22, 2010

Revised: May 26, 2017 (additional information, page13)

MODULE QUESTIONS

VARIABLE NAME: ipq1a

VARIABLE HISTORY:

Added: January 2003, Wave 25

MODULE QUESTION:

Now think about the physical activities you did 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 in the last seven days.

First, think about all the vigorous activities which take hard physical effort that you did in the last 7 days. Vigorous activities make you breathe much harder than normal and may include heavy lifting, digging, aerobics, or fast bicycling.

Think about only those physical activities that you did for at least 10 minutes at a time. During the last 7 days, on how many days did you do vigorous physical activities?

Interviewer instruction: If needed: Think about only those physical activities that you do for at least 10 minutes at a time. Include all jobs.

Response Options

0None

1-7Enter number of days per week

8Don’t know

9Refused

ANALYSIS ISSUES: None

COMPARABILITY TO OTHER SURVEYS

CFLRI 2002

CCHS 1.1, 2.1

NPHS 1998/99

BRFSS 2003

VALIDITY/RELIABILITY TESTS:

This question is taken from the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ): Short Last 7 Days Telephone Format. The results of a reliability and validity study carried out in 2000/2001 indicate that this questionnaire can be used with confidence in developed countries and in urban areas of developing countries for physical activity surveillance.

COGNITIVE TESTING RESULTS:

Waves 26-27

DATE OF LAST REVISION: May 26, 2017

MODULE QUESTIONS

VARIABLE NAME: ipq1b_hr ipq1b_mn

VARIABLE HISTORY:

Added: January 2003, Wave 25

MODULE QUESTION:

How much time did you usually spend doing vigorous physical activities on one of those days?

Interviewer instruction: If needed: Think about only those physical activities that you do for at least 10 minutes at a time.

Response Options

ipq1b_hr

0, 1-12Enter number of hours (default=0)

97Varies widely from day to day

98Don’t know

99Refused

ipq1b_mn

0, 1-90Enter number of minutes (default=0)

ANALYSIS ISSUES:

Asked only of respondents who did vigorous exercise for at least 10 minutes in the last 7 days (ipq1a>=1 & ipq1a<=7).
Data can be entered in either hours and minutes or only minutes (e.g. 1 hour & 30 minutes or 90 minutes).

COMPARABILITY TO OTHER SURVEYS

CFLRI 2002

CCHS 1.1, 2.1

NPHS 1998/99

BRFSS 2003

VALIDITY/RELIABILITY TESTS:

COGNITIVE TESTING RESULTS:

Waves 26-27

DATE OF LAST REVISION: May 26, 2017

MODULE QUESTIONS

VARIABLE NAME: ipq1c_hr ipq1c_mn

VARIABLE HISTORY:

Added: January 2003, Wave 25

MODULE QUESTION:

What is the total amount of time you spent over the last 7 days doing vigorous physical activities?

Response Options

ipq1c_hr

0, 1-90Enter number of hours (default=0)

98Don’t know

99Refused

ipq1c_mn

0, 1-90Enter number of minutes (default=0)

ANALYSIS ISSUES:

Asked only of respondents who said that the time they spend doing vigorous exercise varies widely from day to day (ipq1b_hr=97).
Data can be entered in either hour & minutes or only minutes (e.g. 1 hour & 30 minutes, or 90 minutes).

COMPARABILITY TO OTHER SURVEYS

CFLRI 2002

CCHS 1.1, 2.1

NPHS 1998/99

BRFSS 2003

VALIDITY/RELIABILITY TESTS:

COGNITIVE TESTING RESULTS:

Waves 26-27

DATE OF LAST REVISION: May 26, 2017

MODULE QUESTIONS

VARIABLE NAME: ipq2a

VARIABLE HISTORY:

Added: January 2003, Wave 25

MODULE QUESTION:

Now think about other activities which take moderate physical effort that you did in the last 7 days. Moderate physical activities make you breathe somewhat harder than normal and may include carrying light loads, bicycling at a regular pace, or doubles tennis. Do not include walking.

Again, think about only those physical activities that you did for at least 10 minutes at a time. During the last 7 days, on how many days did you do moderate physical activities?

Interview instruction: If needed: Think about only those physical activities that youdo for at least 10 minutes at a time. Include all jobs.

Response Options

0None

1-7Enter number of days per week

8Don’t know

9Refused

ANALYSIS ISSUES: None

COMPARABILITY TO OTHER SURVEYS

CFLRI 2002

CCHS 1.1, 2.1

NPHS 1998/99

BRFSS 2003

VALIDITY/RELIABILITY TESTS:

COGNITIVE TESTING RESULTS:

Waves 26-27

DATE OF LAST REVISION: May 26, 2017

MODULE QUESTIONS

VARIABLE NAME: ipq2b_hr ipq2b_mn

VARIABLE HISTORY:

Added: January 2003, Wave 25

MODULE QUESTION:

How much time did you usually spend doing moderate physical activities on one of those days?

Interviewer instruction: If needed: Think about only those physical activities that you do for at least 10 minutes at a time.

Response Options

ipq2b_hr

0, 1-12Enter number of hours (default=0)

97Varies widely from day to day

98Don’t know

99Refused

ipq2b_mn

0, 1-90Enter number of minutes (default=0)

ANALYSIS ISSUES:

Asked only of respondents who did moderate exercise for at least 10 minutes in the last 7 days (ipq2a>=1 & ipq2a<=7).
Data can be entered in either hours & minutes or minutes (e.g. 1 hour & 30 minutes, or 90 minutes).

COMPARABILITY TO OTHER SURVEYS

CFLRI 2002

CCHS 1.1, 2.1

NPHS 1998/99

BRFSS 2003

VALIDITY/RELIABILITY TESTS:

COGNITIVE TESTING RESULTS:

Waves 26-27

DATE OF LAST REVISION: May 26, 2017

MODULE QUESTIONS

VARIABLE NAME: ipq2c_hr ipq2c_mn

VARIABLE HISTORY:

Added: January 2003, Wave 25

MODULE QUESTION:

What is the total amount of time you spent over the last 7 days doing moderate physical activities?

Response Options

ipq2c_hr

0, 1-90Enter number of hours (default=0)

98Don’t know

99Refused

ipq2c_mn

0, 1-90Enter number of minutes (default=0)

ANALYSIS ISSUES:

Asked only of respondents who said that the time they spend doing moderate exercise varies widely from day to day (ipq2b_hr=97).
Data can be entered in either hour & minutes or minutes (e.g. 1 hour & 30 minutes, or 90 minutes).

COMPARABILITY TO OTHER SURVEYS

CFLRI 2002

CCHS 1.1, 2.1

NPHS 1998/99

BRFSS 2003

VALIDITY/RELIABILITY TESTS:

COGNITIVE TESTING RESULTS:

Waves 26-27

DATE OF LAST REVISION: May 26, 2017

MODULE QUESTIONS

VARIABLE NAME: ipq3a

VARIABLE HISTORY:

Added: January 2003, Wave 25

MODULE QUESTION:

Now think about the time you spent walking in the last 7 days. This includes walking at work and at home, walking to travel from place to place, and any other walking that you did solely for recreation, sport, exercise or leisure.

During the last 7 days, on how many days did you walk for at least 10 minutes at a time?

Interviewer instruction: If needed: Think about only the walking that you do for at least

10 minutes at a time. Include all jobs.

Response Options

0None

1-7Enter number of days per week

8Don’t know

9Refused

ANALYSIS ISSUES: None

COMPARABILITY TO OTHER SURVEYS

CFLRI 2002

CCHS 1.1, 2.1

NPHS 1998/99

BRFSS 2003

VALIDITY/RELIABILITY TESTS:

COGNITIVE TESTING RESULTS:

Waves 26-27

DATE OF LAST REVISION: May 26, 2017

MODULE QUESTIONS

VARIABLE NAME: ipq3b_hr ipq3b_mn

VARIABLE HISTORY:

Added: January 2003, Wave 25

MODULE QUESTION:

How much time did you usually spend walking on one of those days?

Response Options

ipq3b_hr

0, 1-12Enter number of hours (default=0)

97Varies widely from day to day

98Don’t know

99Refused

ipq3b_mn

0, 1-90Enter number of minutes (default=0)

ANALYSIS ISSUES:

Asked only of respondents who walked for at least 10 minutes in the last 7 days (ipq3a>=1 & ipq3a<=7).
Data can be entered in either hours & minutes or minutes (e.g. 1 hour & 30 minutes, or 90 minutes).

COMPARABILITY TO OTHER SURVEYS

CFLRI 2002

CCHS 1.1, 2.1

NPHS 1998/99

BRFSS 2003

VALIDITY/RELIABILITY TESTS:

COGNITIVE TESTING RESULTS:

Waves 26-27

DATE OF LAST REVISION: May 26, 2017

MODULE QUESTIONS

VARIABLE NAME:ipq3c_hr ipq3c_mn

VARIABLE HISTORY:

Added: January 2003, Wave 25

MODULE QUESTION:

What is the total amount of time you spent walking over the last 7 days?

Response Options

ipq2c_hr

0, 1-90Enter number of hours (default=0)

98Don’t know

99Refused

ipq2c_mn

0, 1-90Enter number of minutes (default=0)

ANALYSIS ISSUES:

Asked only of respondents who said that the time they spend walking varies widely from day to day (ipq3b_hr=97).
Data can be entered in either hours and minutes or minutes (e.g. 1 hour & 30 minutes, or 90 minutes).

COMPARABILITY TO OTHER SURVEYS

CFLRI 2002

CCHS 1.1, 2.1

NPHS 1998/99

BRFSS 2003

VALIDITY/RELIABILITY TESTS:

COGNITIVE TESTING RESULTS:

Waves 26-27

DATE OF LAST REVISION: May 26, 2017

MODULE INDICATORS

Physical Activity Level

INDICATOR DESCRIPTION:

% of adults (18-69) whose level of physical activity is high, moderate, or low.

INDICATOR OBJECTIVES:

To help meet the Ontario Public Health Standards (OPHS) 2008, Chronic Disease Prevention:

Requirement # 1 – Assessment and Surveillance

To conduct epidemiological analysis of surveillance data, including monitoring of

trends over time, emerging trends, and priority populations in the area of

physical activity

Requirement # 11 – Health Promotion and Policy Development

To increase public awareness in physical activity

ANALYSIS CHECK LIST:

The questions used were taken from the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ): Short Last 7 Days Telephone Format that was designed primarily for population surveillance of adults. It has been developed and tested for use in adults (age range of 15-69 years) and until further development and testing is undertaken the use of IPAQ with older and younger age groups is not recommended. The RRFSS indicator uses adults age 18-69, with those aged 18-64 commonly identified as the age range of young and middle aged adults and 65+ identified as seniors. Data cleaning and processing rules are described in the document, ‘Guidelines for Data Processing and Analysis of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) - Short Form and Long Forms, November 2005’, available at (scoring protocol, short form, link to pdf at bottom of page).

METHOD OF CALCULATION:

The physical activity levels and associated risk indicator were originally developed by Ottawa Public Health in consultation with Cora Craig at the CFLRI. They were subsequently revised in 2006 by Middlesex – London Health Unit. They are used in the CFLRI Physical Activity Monitor. The table below summarizes the criteria used for each activity level. The criteria are based on a combination of frequency (days per week) and duration (minutes per day) of walking, moderate-intensity and vigorous-intensity activity and a measure of volume of activity defined in MET-minutes per week. Work intensity is frequently described by exercise physiologists in multiples of resting metabolic rate. This index (MET) is calculated as a ratio of work metabolic rate/rest metabolic rate. MET-minutes per week are calculated by multiplying the number of days per week by the number of minutes per day by a MET value (walking=3.3, moderate=4.0, vigorous=8.0). Total MET-minutes per week is the sum of the MET-minutes per week for each intensity level of physical activity. A more detailed description is included in the document, ‘Guidelines for Data Processing and Analysis of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) - Short and Long FormsNovember 2005’, available at (scoring protocol, short form, link to pdf at bottom of page). This document makes suggestions for categorical indicators but they are not the same as those developed for RRFSS. Respondents with don’t know, refused or missing data for any of the duration or frequency variables cannot be assigned an activity level and are excluded from the analysis.

Physical Activity Indicator

IPAQ PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVELS (Based on Revised IPAQ Categories November 2005)

IPAQ Category / pa_level_isr
value / Technical Description
High / 1 / Meets any one of the following 2 criteria:

Vigorous-intensity activity on at least 3 days and accumulating at least 1500 MET-minutes/week OR
7 or more days of any combination of walking, moderate-or vigorous-intensity activities accumulation at least 3000 MET – minutes/week

Moderate / 2 / Meets any of the following 3 criteria:

3 or more days of vigorous activity of at least 20 minutes per day OR
5 or more days of moderate-intensity activity and/or walking, in combination or alone, of at least 30 minutes per day OR
5 or more days of any combination of walking, moderate-intensity or vigorous-intensity activities achieving a minimum of at least 600 MET –minutes/week

Low / 3 /

Either no activity is reported OR
Some activity reported but does not meet the criteria of the other 2 categories above

Missing / One of more questions not asked / dk,/ refused / 70 years of age or older / missing age / Could not calculate level of physical activity because of missing age or age 70+, dk / refused to answer, or answer considered an outlier

To calculate the percent of respondents in each activity level:

# adults (18-69) with high (pa_level_isr=1), moderate (pa_level_isr=2) or low (pa_level_isr=3) physical activity level

# adults (18-69) assigned a physical activity level (pa_level_isr =1,2 or 3)

DATE OF LAST REVISION: May 26, 2017

Excerpt from the 2010 Technical Document produced by ISR:

Physical Activity Level – November 2005 IPAQ Method – Grouped, 3 levels

Variable Name: pa_level_ISR

Based on: ipq1a, ipq1b, ipq1c, ipq2a, ipq2b, ipq2c, ipq3a, ipq3b, and ipq3c.

Description: This variable groups a respondent’s daily level of physical activity into three groups: High, Moderate, and Low. Daily amount of vigorous physical activity (MinuteVB), daily amount of moderate physical activity (MinuteMB), and daily amount of low physical activity (MinuteWB) such as walking are calculated and truncation rules are applied according to IPAQ Guidelines. Please note, a case is flagged (variable DK) if a respondent does not answer all of therequired questions for the calculations. It should also be noted that the variable pa_level_ISR is the combined result of the daily amount of vigorous physical activity (MinuteVB), daily amount of moderate physical activity (MinuteMB), and daily amount of low physical activity (MinuteWB).

The analysis is summarized as follows:

Identifying non-responders

Recoding Vigorous, Moderate and Walking times to average minutes per day

Exclude Maximal Outliers (>960 total minutes per day)

Truncate remaining Vigorous, Moderate and Walking minutes to a maximum of 180 respectively

Calculating MET minutes (MET=Metabolic Equivalent Task, needed to derive the levels of physical activity)

Derive levels of physical activity (final variable = "pa_level_ISR"). The pa_level_ISR is not calculated if a respondent was not asked this module (i.e., none of the questions are asked or not all questions in the module are answered)

Additional information

RRFSS – Rapid Risk Factor Surveillance System