Questionnaire-Based Prevalence of Physical Activity Level on Adults According to Different International Guidelines: Impact on Surveillance and Policies

Abstract

Background: The World Health Organization recommends 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (PA) throughout the week. However, the weekly frequency of PA and how to combine moderate and vigorous PA to define who reaches the recommended PA are controversial. PA level might be highly different based on the recommendation and/or the criteria employed. Methods: Demographic data and PA level evaluated by International Physical Activity Questionnaire from 3 random and representative samples from 1 state, 1 city, and 1 local organization in Brazil were analyzed (n = 2961). Nine criteria from different recommendations were used to define PA level. Prevalence estimates and 95% confidence intervals of sufficient PA were calculated for each criterion and compared with the referent (World Health Organization guideline). Total agreement, sensitivity, and specificity were also calculated with 95% confidence interval. Results: When a weekly frequency of PA was required, the prevalence of sufficient PA decreased by 11% (P < .05). For all criteria, doubling the vigorous PA minutes was similar to simply adding them to moderate PA. These findings are consistent regardless of sex, age, and educational level. Conclusion: Prevalence estimates and agreement between different PA recommendations were significantly affected when a minimum frequency was required but did not change when vigorous PA minutes were doubled.