Effect of a moderate-intensity demonstration walk on accuracy of physical activity self-report

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Providing a demonstration of a 10-minute bout of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) immediately prior to subjective reporting of MVPA could influence self-reported activity by calibrating both duration and intensity. We assessed the effect of a demonstration of MVPA on subsequent MVPA recall, and explored whether this improved agreement with objective measures of MVPA. METHODS: A total of 846 individuals participated in four different physical activity interventions; two of which included a 10-minute moderate-intensity demonstration walk on a treadmill at baseline and 6-month visits immediately prior to reporting MVPA. Participants from three studies also wore accelerometers during the week overlapping with self-reported MVPA. Correlations with accelerometers at baseline were higher in the two studies with the demonstration walk (ρ = 0.28, 0.26) than the study without (ρ = 0.04). Correlations with accelerometers increased overall from baseline to follow-up. CONCLUSION: A 10-minute demonstration of MVPA was associated with reporting fewer minutes of MVPA and improved agreement with objective PA measures at baseline. These findings support combining self-report PA assessments with hands-on MVPA demonstrations.