Comparison of the IPAQ-A and actigraph in relation to VO2max among European adolescents: the HELENA study

The purpose was to compare data obtained from a modified, long, self-administered version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-A) with objective data obtained in parallel from Actigraph accelerometers, and VO2max in adolescents. The study comprised a total of 2018 adolescents (46% male) from ten European cities participating in the HELENA (Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence) study. Physical activity was assessed over seven consecutive days by accelerometry and expressed as min/day of moderate, vigorous, and moderate to vigorous (MVPA) physical activity (PA). PA was also assessed with the IPAQ-A. VO2max was estimated from a 20-m shuttle run test. Poor to fair correlations between the two methodologies were found for the whole study sample and when stratified by age and gender (rs=0.08-0.26, p