Document Type
Article
Source Publication Title
Frontiers in Psychology: Movement Science and Sport Psychology
DOI
http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00260
Abstract
Introduction: Mobile phones are ubiquitous and easy to use, and thus have the capacity to collect real-time data from large numbers of people. Research tested the feasibility and validity of an Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) self-report protocol using electronic surveys on mobile phones to assess adults’ physical activity and sedentary behaviors. Methods: Adults (N = 110; 73% female, 30% Hispanic, 62% overweight/obese) completed a 4-day signal-contingent EMA protocol (Saturday–Tuesday) with eight surveys randomly spaced throughout each day. EMA items assessed current activity (e.g., Watching TV/Movies, Reading/Computer, Physical Activity/Exercise). EMA responses were time-matched to minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary activity (SA) measured by accelerometer immediately before and after each EMA prompt. Results: Unanswered EMA prompts had greater MVPA (±15 min) than answered EMA prompts (p = 0.029) for under/normal weight participants, indicating that activity level might influence the likelihood of responding. The 15-min. intervals before versus after the EMA-reported physical activity (n = 296 occasions) did not differ in MVPA (p > 0.05), suggesting that prompting did not disrupt physical activity. SA decreased after EMA-reported sedentary behavior (n = 904 occasions; p < 0.05) for overweight and obese participants. As compared with other activities, EMA-reported physical activity and sedentary behavior had significantly greater MVPA and SA, respectively, in the ±15 min of the EMA prompt (ps < 0.001), providing evidence for criterion validity. Conclusion: Findings generally support the acceptability and validity of a 4-day signal-contingent EMA protocol using mobile phones to measure physical activity and sedentary behavior in adults. However, some MVPA may be missed among underweight and normal weight individuals. [Copyright: © 2012 Dunton, Liao, Kawabata and Intille. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in other forums, provided the original authors and source are credited and subject to any copyright notices concerning any third-party graphics etc. Available online: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00260].
Disciplines
Kinesiology | Life Sciences
Publication Date
7-12-2012
Language
English
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Dunton, Genevieve Fridlund; Liao, Yue; Kawabata, Keito; and Intille, Stephen, "Momentary assessment of adults’ physical activity and sedentary behavior: feasibility and validity" (2012). Kinesiology Faculty Publications & Presentations. 18.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/kinesiology_facpubs/18