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ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #295567
Title: Validation of uniaxial and triaxial accelerometers for the assessment of physical activity in preschool children

Author
item ADOLPH, ANNE - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item PUYAU, MAURICE - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item VOHRA, FIROZ - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item NICKLAS, THERESA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item ZAKERI, ISSA - Drexel University
item BUTTE, NANCY - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)

Submitted to: Journal of Physical Activity and Health
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/15/2012
Publication Date: 9/22/2012
Citation: Adolph, A.L., Puyau, M.R., Vohra, F.A., Nicklas, T.A., Zakeri, I.F., Butte, N.F. 2012. Validation of uniaxial and triaxial accelerometers for the assessment of physical activity in preschool children. Journal of Physical Activity and Health. 9:944-953.

Interpretive Summary: Given the unique physical activity patterns of preschoolers, wearable electronic devices for assessment of physical activity requires validation in this population. We aimed to validate accelerometers in preschoolers. Room calorimetry was performed in preschoolers, wearing Actical, Actiheart, and RT3 accelerometers during play, slow, moderate, and fast activities. Based on activity energy expenditure and accelerometer counts, optimal thresholds for physical activity levels were determined. Based on the significant correlations between accelerometer counts and activity energy expenditure, it was found that accelerometers can be used to classify preschoolers' physical activity into sedentary, light, and moderate-to-vigorous levels with no clear advantage over the types of accelerometers. Accelerometers were found to be acceptable devices with similar accuracy for the quantitative assessment of sedentary, light, and moderate-to- vigorous levels of physical activity in preschool children. Such findings will aid researchers that conduct phisical activity research.

Technical Abstract: Given the unique physical activity patterns of preschoolers, wearable electronic devices for quantitative assessment of physical activity require validation in this population. Study objective was to validate uniaxial and triaxial accelerometers in preschoolers. Room calorimetry was performed over 3 hours in 64 preschoolers, wearing Actical, Actiheart, and RT3 accelerometers during play, slow, moderate, and fast translocation. Based on activity energy expenditure and accelerometer counts, optimal thresholds for physical activity levels were determined by piecewise linear regression and discrimination boundary analysis. Based on the significant correlations between accelerometer counts and activity energy expenditure, it was found that accelerometers can be used to classify preschoolers' physical activity into sedentary, light, and moderate-to-vigorous levels with no clear advantage of triaxial over uniaxial accelerometers. Based on activity energy expenditure measured by room respiration calorimetry as the criterion for the assessment of physical activity in 64 preschool children, uniaxial and triaxial accelerometers were found to be acceptable devices with similar classification accuracy for the quantitative assessment of sedentary, light, and moderate-to-vigorous levels of physical activity in preschool children.