One frequently used instrument for the evaluation of physical activity is the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), which was developed in the late 1990s by a multinational working group, supported by the WHO, in order to assess PA cross-nationally in adults aged 18-65 years. Four long (31-item) and four short (9-item) questionnaire versions have been designed, which can be self-administered or answered by telephone interview. The recall period used by all long and short IPAQ formats is either the last seven days or a “usual week”. IPAQ instruments have been tested in both developed and developing countries and demonstrated good reliability and acceptable validity properties, at least as good as other self-answered PAQs.
1. Reliability measures: Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) between day-1 and day-9 assessments for IPAQ total and vigorous PA were high in all groups examined (0.84 to 0.93). ICCs for walking PA, moderate PA and sitting hours were lower, but still good (0.69 to 0.81). Repeatability of IPAQ-Gr outcomes after one-month re-administration was high for total and vigorous PA (0.87, 0.81) and good for moderate (0.66) and walking PA (0.75). Inter-examiner reliability data showed that all correlations between examiners were greater than 0.70, up to 0.87 (paired t-test, p=NS), with the exception of moderate PA where correlations were weaker (0.58 to 0.64). Similar results were found when intra-examiner correlations were compared between educational institutes (multi-centre inter-examiner reliability of IPAQ).
2. Validity measures: Spearman’s correlations for total and vigorous PA against maximal treadmill time were significant in all groups examined, ranging from 0.35 to 0.43. Moderate and walking PA correlations were poor and nonsignificant, ranging from near-zero values to 0.19. In multiple linear regression analysis, only sex, smoking, and vigorous PA from all personal and log-transformed IPAQ-Gr data were significantly associated with maximal treadmill time. Partial correlation analysis for the overall population, adjusted for sex and smoking, showed that total PA (r= 0.37) and vigorous PA (r= 0.47) were significantly associated with exercise capacity.

1. Craig CL, Marshall AL, Sjostrom M, Bauman AE, Booth ML, Ainsworth BE, et al. International physical activity questionnaire: 12-country reliability and validity. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2003, 35:1381-95.
2. Papathanasiou G, Georgoudis G, Papandreou M, Spyropoulos P, Georgakopoulos D, Kalfakakou V, Evangellou A. Reliability Measures of the Short International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) in Greek Young Adults. Hellenic Journal of Cardiology. 2009; 50:283-294.
3. Papathanasiou G, Georgoudis G, Georgakopoulos D, Katsouras C, Kalfakakou V, Evangellou A. Criterion-Related Validity of IPAQ-short Against Exercise Capacity in Young Adults. European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation. 2010; 17:380-386.

Link για ανεύρεση όλων των εκδόσεων του IPAQ: https://sites.google.com/site/theipaq/questionnaire_links