Mission
To develop and validate a physical activity self-report instrument for youth.
Background
During childhood and adolescence, low levels of physical activity are associated with increased risk for development of obesity and with elevated risk factors for multiple chronic diseases. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans call for school-aged youth to engage in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity for 60 or more minutes per day, but available evidence indicates that most American youth do not meet this guideline. Accordingly, promotion of physical activity in young people has become a major public health goal.
This investigation aims to produce a physical activity self-report instrument for 6th to 8th grade youth, that will be a major advance over existing instruments designed for use in surveillance and other large- group studies.
Project Details
Timeline: September 2012-August 2014
Funding Source: NIH
Principal Investigator: Russell R. Pate
Co-Investigator(s): Michael Beets, Christine DiStefano
Publications
Pate RR, Mciver KL, Dowda M, Schenkelberg MA, Beets MV, Distefano C. EASY—An Instrument for Surveillance of Physical Activity in Youth. Medicine and science in sports and exercise. 2018 Jun;50(6):1216.[pdf]