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Development of the child/adolescent activity log: A comprehensive and feasible measure of leisure-time physical activity

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test the utility of a new instrument, the Child/Adolescent Activity Log (CAAL), designed to measure children’s physical activities in a school setting efficiently, yet comprehensively. At baseline, 459 participants (mean age 12 ± 1.4. 59% White, 34% African American. 7% other) were recruited to participate in a 2-year study focusing on patterns and predictors of physical activity at critical school transition points. The CAAL was administered daily for a 1-week period on 6 occasions to this cohort. From the CAAL, information about the pattern of specific activities chosen, average daily duration of activity, and average daily expenditure per kg body weight was obtained. The validity of the log was supported by its (1) correlation with Caltrac readings, (2) relation in the predicted direction with a single-item measure of typical level of physical activity and fitness indices, and (3) expected changes in exercise patterns over time and by gender. If future studies corroborate the psychometric properties and ease of administration of the CAAL, its utility in community-based studies is promising.

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This research was supported by the National Institute of Nursing Research Gram P20 NR02962

We acknowledge the study development and data collection assistance of Mary Ann Norton Broda, the statistical assistance of David Ronis, and the technical assistance of Karen Mcllroy and Virginia Dieterle

The CAAL and its scoring instructions are available from Anne W. Garcia

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Garcia, A.W., George, T.R., Coviak, C. et al. Development of the child/adolescent activity log: A comprehensive and feasible measure of leisure-time physical activity. Int. J. Behav. Med. 4, 323–338 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327558ijbm0404_5

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