Comparison of self-reported and accelerometer-assessed measurements of physical activity according to sociodemographic characteristics

OBJECTIVES: Previous studies have shown relatively low correlations between self-reported and accelerometer-assessed physical activity. However, this association differs by socio-demographic factors, and this relationship has not been fully investigated in the general population. Thus, we investigated the correlation between self-reported and accelerometer-assessed physical activity and whether it differed by demographic and socioeconomic factors among the Korean general population. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 623 participants (203 men and 420 women) aged 30 to 64 years, who completed a physical activity questionnaire and wore a wrist-worn accelerometer on the non-dominant wrist for 7 days. We examined the agreement for metabolic equivalent task minutes per week (MET-min/wk) between the 2 measures and calculated Spearman correlation coefficients according to demographic and socioeconomic factors. RESULTS: The κ coefficient between tertiles of self-reported and accelerometer-assessed total MET-min/wk was 0.16 in the total population, suggesting overall poor agreement. The correlation coefficient between the 2 measurements was 0.26 (p