Fiabilidad y validez del cuestionario de actividad física PAQ-A en adolescentes espa？oles

background: questionnaires are feasible instruments to assess physical activity (pa) in large samples. the aim of the current study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the paq-a questionnaire in spanish adolescents using the measurement of pa by accelerometer as criterion. methods: in a sample of 82 adolescents, aged 12 to 17 years, 1-week paq-a test-retest was administered. reliability was analyzed by the intraclass correlation coefficient (icc) and the internal consistency by the cronbach's α coefficient. two hundred thirty-two adolescents, aged 13-17 years, completed the paq-a and wore the actigraph gt1m accelerometer during 7-days. the paq-a was compared against total pa and moderate to vigorous pa (mvpa) obtained by the accelerometer. results: test-retest reliability showed icc = 0.71 for the final score of paq-a. internal consistency was α = 0.65 in the first self-report, α = 0.67 in the retest in 82 adolescents sample, and α = 0.74 in the 232 adolescents sample. the paq-a was moderately correlated with total pa (rho = 0.39) and mvpa (rho= 0.34) assessed by the accelerometer. the paq-a obtained significantly moderate correlations in boys but not in girls against the accelerometer. conclusions: the paq-a questionnaire shows an adequate reliability and a reasonable validity for assessing pa in spanish adolescents.