Progress and Pitfalls in the Use of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) for Adult Physical Activity Surveillance

Before the development of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), population measures of physical activity were country-specific, noncomparable, and mostly developed to assess leisure-time activity. Given the global increases in noncommunicable disease1 the need for internationally comparable physical activity surveillance measures was identified. An initial meeting at World Health Organization Headquarters in 1998 convened a group of physical activity scientists to plan the development and testing of such a measure, resulting in IPAQ. The purpose of this commentary is to reflect upon the first decade of experience with IPAQ, compare its intended to its actual use, and comment on its strengths and weaknesses as an addition to the armamentarium of self-report physical activity measures. IPAQ development was premised on the need to develop international population measurement to assess ‘total physical activity’ across the domains of work, domestic tasks, active transport, and leisure time, because patterns of activity across domains were expected to vary widely by country.2 IPAQ was developed because of the desire for cross-country comparison and international physical activity surveillance. To enhance use across countries, the measures were