Lecture 5: Behavioural measures Flashcards
What are 5 reasons it is good to measure behaviour
- Asses current levels of health behaviour in the population
- Monitor compliance with national guidelines
- Understand the relationship between health behaviours and chronic disease
- Understand the factors influencing health behaviours
- Determine the effectiveness of intervention
What are the 4 health behaviours we are going to focus on
- Physical activity
- Sedentary behaviour
- Sleep
- Diet/Nutrition
Define physical activity
any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that expends energy beyond resting level
Define sedentary behaviour
any waking behaviour characterized by an energy expenditure less than 1.5 metabolic equivalents, while in a sitting, reclining, or lying posture
Define sleep
loss of conscious awareness
Define diet
the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats
Define validity
refers to the accuracy of an instrument in measuring what it seeks or claims to measure
Define reliability
refers to the stability and consistency of the instrument (ina short period of time)
Define objectivity
free of bias; uncontaminated by the emotional aspects of personal assessment
What are subjective measures
self or proxy-report (report of child’s behaviour by a parent or teacher)
- diary/log
- questionnaire
- interview
What are objective measures
- observation
- monitor (pedometer or accelerometer)
What are common discrepancies with self-report when it comes to diet and activity
People tend to underreport what they ate and overreport how much physical activity they did
What are the advantages of self-reports
- low cost
- quick and efficient
- information gathered in context (what kinds of activities and where)
- reliable
What are the disadvantages of self-report
- questionable validity
- biases (social desirability, memory)
What is a pedometer
steps/day or steps/min
What are the advantages of a pedometer
- less bias than a self-report (might be biased cause of the motivation they get knowing they are being tracked)
- fairly inexpensive
What are the disadvantages of a pedometer
- more participant burden
- data is not in context
- no information on time
What is an accelerometer
measures minutes/day in different intensities of activity
What are the advantages of an accelerometer
- less biased than a pedometer
- measures the intensity of activity
- time stamped
- detailed
What are the disadvantages of an accelerometer
- costly ($225 - $450)
- more participant burden
- no information on context
What is an inclinometer
measures min/day and posture (sitting, lying, walking)
What are the advantages of an inclinometer
- less biased than a pedometer
- time stamped
- detailed
- measures posture
What are the disadvantages of an inclinometer
- costly ($500)
- more participant burden
- no information on context
