Is a Coded Physical Activity Diary Valid for Assessing Physical Activity Level and Energy Expenditure in Stroke Patients?

Objectivesto determine the concurrent validity of a physical activity diary for measuring physical activity level and total energy expenditure in hospitalized stroke patients.MethodSixteen stroke patients kept coded activity diaries and wore SenseWear Pro2 multi-sensor activity monitors during daytime hours for one day. A researcher observed the patients and completed a diary. Data from the patients' diaries were compared with observed and measured data to determine total activity (METs*minutes), activity level and total energy expenditure.ResultsSpearman correlations between the patients' and researchers' diaries revealed a high correlation for total METs*minutes (rs = 0.75, ps = 0.74,ps = 0.71,ps = 0.92, ps 0.29) for total METs*minutes and energy expenditure.ConclusionCoded self-monitoring activity diaries appear feasible as a low-tech alternative to labor-intensive observational diaries for determining sedentary, moderate, and total physical activity and for quantifying energy expenditure in hospitalized stroke patients. Given the poor correlation with objective measurements of physical activity, however, further research is needed to validate its use against a gold-standard measure of physical activity intensity and energy expenditure.