Physical activity measurement in New Zealand children Research Completed
Title
Physical activity measurement in New Zealand children
Lead Author
Louise Foley
Organisation(s)
Prepared for Sport & Recreation New Zealand by University of Auckland
Publication Year
2010
Publisher
Sport and Recreation New Zealand
Contacts
Louise Foley
email: l.foley@auckland.ac.nz
Abstract
Accurate assessment of physical activity is paramount in determining the effectiveness of interventions, as well as for population monitoring. Self-report tools are often used for large-scale research due to their practicality and lower cost. The Multimedia Activity Recall for Children and Adolescents (MARCA) is a computer-delivered self-report questionnaire that is used to assess physical activity. The overall aim of this project was to validate the MARCA for the measurement of physical activity in New Zealand (NZ) young people. The MARCA was validated against doubly labelled water and accelerometry, and the stability over time assessed. The MARCA indicated good validity and stability for the assessment of total daily energy expenditure, and activity-related energy expenditure, compared with the criterion standard of doubly labelled water. Compared with accelerometry, the MARCA also indicated acceptable validity for the assessment of daily time spent in sedentary behaviour and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, though the stability over time for these outcomes was poor. A MARCA demographics module was created to capture complementary information on regular participation in structured sport and recreational activities. Overall, the MARCA has utility for the assessment of physical activity in NZ young people.
Keywords:
Physical activity; MARCA
How to access
Areas of Focus
Population Groups
Topics
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1329
Added
July 18, 2013
Last Modified
July 18, 2013