Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

What is the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ)?

The purpose of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) is to provide a set of well-developed instruments that can be used internationally to obtain comparable estimates of physical activity.

So we encourage any researchers to use it where it will be an appropriate measure of physical activity, particularly in large population studies or in the context of physical activity surveillance for which this measure was designed.

There are two versions of the questionnaire. The short version is suitable for use in national and regional surveillance systems and the long version provide more detailed information often required in research work or for evaluation purposes.

Why was the IPAQ developed?

Low physical activity is a major public health problem and needs to be monitored. A questionnaire is often the most feasible instrument for measuring physical activity in large groups or populations. However, many of the instruments that existed prior to the development of IPAQ were not comparable in terms of the type of activities surveyed (i.e., leisure-time activities only) and format used for data collection.

It was developed so the prevalence and impact of the problem could be studied in a uniform and systematic fashion, for comparable and valid measures of physical activity within and between countries, for surveillance activities and to guide policy development related to health-enhancing physical activity across various life domains.

How has the IPAQ been used?

The IPAQ has been widely used in population based studies and surveillance of physical activity globally.

How to use this site?

• You download the appropriate form of the questionnaire, the appropriate language, and the format of administration.

• If you do not find the version of the IPAQ you need, you may adapt it for your study.

• You score the answers according to a scoring protocol.

• If you have made a new version, you are strongly encouraged to submit it so others can access it.

Who may use the IPAQ?

The IPAQ has been developed for population based studies and surveillance of physical activity. Anyone conducting these kind of studies are welcome to use the instrument.

It is available under the Creative Commons license "CC BY 4.0" Under this licence:

"You are free to:

• Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format

• Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material

• for any purpose, even commercially.

Provided you

• Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

• No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits."

Read more about this licence: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Please see also our guidance on how to cite the IPAQ.

Who may translate the IPAQ?

Anyone! According to the license CC BY 4.0 (see above), you are free to translate it and modify it. You do NOT need to ask permission first but you may want to let us know so we can tell you if we are aware of other people working on the same translation!

However, copyright is one thing, but as a researcher you must be aware that this may affect the psychometric properties of the instrument (validity, reliability etc). Please refer to our guidance on translation and adaptation.

When you have translated it please email us explaining what you have done and we will include it on the site.

Can I get help with X?

Unfortunately not. You may contact the site administrator at ipaqwebsite@gmail.com but only to submit a new version or for basic questions. We cannot help you with study design, analysis etc.

Why is support no longer available?

For many, many years, a group of four or five of us that initially developed and tested the IPAQ responded to all the enquiries about the algorithm or scoring protocol, and other methodological issues, but the volume of them has continued to increase in recent years. Most of the requests come from students or graduates, and where students are able to ask a local senior researcher for help, particularly one with physical activity experience or a local biostatistician, they usually find that the scoring problems can be resolved.

After many hundreds of such enquiries we have decided that we have served the IPAQ and its development well, but that we can no longer provide individual support in the detail that they require, so we refer students to their local statisticians and physical activity experts.

We hope that the IPAQ is a useful measure for you, and one that meets your needs!

Yours sincerely,

The IPAQ website administrator