Reliability and Validity of a Culturally Adaptive Version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire in Indian Subcontinent: A Cross-sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Physical activity (PA) is one of the prime public health problems occurring globally. Regular PA is associated with a decrease in all-causes of mortality irrespective of gender. The study was conducted to investigate the validity and an aspect of reliability of a modified version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) in the Indian subcontinent (InS). METHODS: Cross-sectional study, to evaluate the validity and reliability of the InS IPAQ-LF compared with a range of biological variables. In total, 198 participants (50% women) with a mean age of 35.6 (SD = 10.3) years selected from neighborhoods with variable socioeconomic status and PA. RESULTS: The InS IPAQ-LF demonstrated good test-retest reliability for total PA (Intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] =0.79, 95% CI 0.65 to 0.82), occupational PA (ICC = 0.77, 95% CI 0.68 to 0.82), active transportation (ICC = 0.82, 95% CI 0.75 to 0.87), and vigorous-intensity activities (ICC = 0.82, 95% CI 0.76 to 0.87). Reliability was substantially higher for total PA (ICC = 0.80), occupational PA (ICC = 0.78), leisure-time PA (ICC = 0.75), and active transportation (ICC = 0.80) in men than in women, but domestic PA (ICC = 0.38) and sitting time (ICC = 0.71) demonstrated more substantial reliability coefficients in women than in men. CONCLUSIONS: The InS IPAQ-LF demonstrated considerate evidence of test-retest reliability and may be valid for evaluating context specific PA mannerisms of adults in InS.