IPAQ

Summary and structure

The IPAQ (International Physical Activity Questionnaire) was developed by an international expert group and tested for reliability and validity in 12 countries. The short form is one of the most widely used measures of physical activity in health research.

Seven questions ask on how many days and for how long the person did vigorous activity, moderate activity and walking in the last 7 days, and how long they sat on a weekday. From these answers, weekly energy expenditure is calculated in MET-minutes.

Categories according to the IPAQ scoring protocol:

Low: does not meet the criteria for moderate or high

Moderate: e.g. at least 5 days with 30 minutes of moderate activity or walking

High: e.g. at least 3 days of vigorous activity and 1,500 MET-minutes per week

Key Data

Age group: Adults (15–69 years)

Completion time: about 5 minutes

Languages in SwissDTx: English, German

Intended Use

The IPAQ is used in rehabilitation, cardiology, prevention, corporate health and clinical trials to describe activity levels and set activity goals.

Repeated over time, it shows whether physical activity changes during a programme, which is a key outcome in lifestyle and rehabilitation interventions.

Information for Practitioners

The IPAQ is self-reported and tends to overestimate activity. For individual feedback, use it alongside a conversation or objective measures such as step counts.

In SwissDTx, the number of active days per intensity is shown over time in the Care Cockpit. MET-minutes and the activity category can be calculated by the professional from the reported times according to the IPAQ scoring protocol.

Authors

Cora L. Craig

Alison L. Marshall

Michael Sjöström

Adrian E. Bauman

Michael L. Booth

Barbara E. Ainsworth

Scientific References

Craig C.L., Marshall A.L., Sjöström M., Bauman A.E., Booth M.L., Ainsworth B.E., et al. (2003). International Physical Activity Questionnaire: 12-country reliability and validity. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 35(8), 1381–1395. https://doi.org/10.1249/01.MSS.0000078924.61453.FB

IPAQ Research Committee (2005). Guidelines for data processing and analysis of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). https://sites.google.com/view/ipaq/score

Licence

The IPAQ is available under the Creative Commons licence CC BY 4.0 and may be used for any purpose, including commercially, with attribution.