Measuring physical activity in South African primary school children : a self-report questionnaire versus pedometer testing

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dc.contributor.advisor Nolte, Kim en
dc.contributor.coadvisor Steyn, Ben J.M. (Barend Johannes Marthinus) en
dc.contributor.postgraduate Malan, Guillaume Francois en
dc.date.accessioned 2015-11-25T09:47:11Z
dc.date.available 2015-11-25T09:47:11Z
dc.date.created 2015/09/01 en
dc.date.issued 2015 en
dc.description Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2015. en
dc.description.abstract The prevalence of childhood obesity is increasing in South Africa and can be linked to decreased physical activity (PA). It is therefore important to be able to accurately measure children’s PA levels. The primary aim of this study was to determine whether children in grades two and three are able to self-report PA by means of a questionnaire. Fifty-eight participants (28 females, 30 males) from a primary school in Gauteng were recruited for the study. The participants had to wear a pedometer (Omron HJ-720) for seven days after which they completed the Physical Activity Questionnaire for older Children (PAQ-C). The average steps per day were 9289, with weekday steps (10 219) being more than weekend steps (6795). The mean (±SD) score for the PAQ-C was 3.14 ± 0.47. There was a significant moderate correlation (r = 0.49; p < 0.01) between the overall PAQ-C score and average steps per day. Therefore the PAQ-C can be an effective way in which to gain insight into PA levels in children but should not replace objective measures of PA. The participants in this study appear to be accumulating insufficient PA over the course of the week. en
dc.description.availability Unrestricted en
dc.description.degree MA en
dc.description.department Biokinetics, Sport and Leisure Sciences en
dc.description.librarian tm2015 en
dc.identifier.citation Malan, GF 2015, Measuring physical activity in South African primary school children : a self-report questionnaire versus pedometer testing, MA Dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/50672> en
dc.identifier.other S2015 en
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/50672
dc.language.iso en en
dc.publisher University of Pretoria en_ZA
dc.rights © 2015 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. en
dc.subject UCTD en
dc.title Measuring physical activity in South African primary school children : a self-report questionnaire versus pedometer testing en
dc.type Dissertation en


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