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Selected Publication:
Rogen, S.
Evaluation of the Physical Activity Biography
Doktoratsstudium der Medizinischen Wissenschaft; Humanmedizin; [ Dissertation ] Medical University of Graz; 2014. pp. 132
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- Authors Med Uni Graz:
- Advisor:
- Bauernhofer Thomas
- Müller Wolfram
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- Abstract:
- Objectives: Beside the genetic disposition, physical activity (PA) is one of the major health factors and can take on a sizeable role in the prevention and therapy of many diseases (cardiovascular diseases, cancer, obesity-related diseases etc.). In contrast to the genetic disposition, PA can be deliberately influenced by lifestyle. Therefore, it is of high importance to assess PA patterns. Design: In order to assess PA reliably and validly, a new questionnaire (Physical Activity Biography, PAB) was created. Part I of the PAB (Sport and Transport) enables to distinguish between endurance intensity levels and strength and high speed activity patterns throughout life. Part II (Work, Housework and Gardening) differentiates between moderate and intensive occupational PA and further assesses the amount of PA during housework and gardening during different lifetime frames. This study aims at evaluating the PAB by means of item analysis, retest-reliability and validity (criteria were physical fitness assessed by the questionnaire FFB-mot and by exercise tests). Method: 141 participants answered the PAB. For deriving retest-reliability, 81 participants completed the PAB after a retest-interval of one month. 55 participated in exercise tests and answered the FFB-mot to determine construct validity for part I. Results: In part I retest-reliability (ICC) above 0.7 was found for most items. For items assessing recent PA, the criteria of convergent and discriminant validity were given. In part II the ICC’s were lower than for part II, which can be explained by a very homogenous sample in terms of education and place of residence. Conclusions: Despite the complexity of the question under study, the results fulfilled the expectations concerning reliability and validity. Part I of the PAB enables to assess the amount of sport and locomotion a person has accomplished during different life time frames. Because of the protective effects of PA on various diseases, part I may become an important tool for risk assessment. Part II is to be evaluated in further studies with adequate samples.