The minimum number of days required to establish reliable physical activity estimates in children aged 2–15 years

The purpose of this study was to determine the minimum number of days needed to assess reliable estimates of step-count data for children based on age and gender. A total of 428 developing children (at least 30 boys and 30 girls in seven two-year intervals from 2-3 years to 14-15 years of age) wore a StepWatch accelerometer for 7 consecutive days. Following data screening, the 422 children's data were finally analyzed by age and sex groups using the Generalizability theory. Single-facet crossed designs (i.e. Participant (P) × Days (D)) were applied for each of 14 datasets. G-studies were performed to quantify the percentage of variance associated with the facet and interaction in the model. Follow-up D-studies were performed to determine the minimum number of days of step-count data collection needed to achieve a desirable reliability coefficient (G ≥ 0.80). The results from the G-studies show that P explained a large percentage of the total variance (26-71%) while D had little effect on the total variance (0-5%). A relatively large percentage of variance was unidentified (i.e. the P × D interaction). The minimum number of days necessary to achieve a desirable reliability coefficient (G ≥ 0.80) ranged from 2 to 12 d. On average, boys required less days of monitoring than girls. Researchers should use the findings of this study to design data collection that ensures reliable data.