PO 097. LIFESTYLE AND METABOLIC SYNDROME IN A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS. RELIABILITY OF A PHYSICAL ACTIVITY QUESTIONNAIRE

Background and objective. Physical activity plays a fundamental role in preventing and treating cardiovascular diseases, such as metabolic syndrome. During the pandemic caused by corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the lockdown established, people have reduced considerably their mobility and physical activity, which has led to an increase in unhealthy lifestyle habits. Thus, we designed a cohort study aiming to investigate physical activity and screen time in young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and to test psychometric properties of the tools for assessing these behaviours during pandemic periods. In the present study, we aimed to test the reliability of an online physical activity questionnaire.

Methods. We applied the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ, short version) in the online format in117 university students from a South American city. This is a self-administered questionnaire that assesses physical activity by questions about frequency, duration (in minutes/day) and intensity of activities (walking, moderate and vigorous). We applied the questionnaires two times with14 days of interval.

Results. Our sample was composed, mainly, by female participants (68.7%), aged between 21 and 25 years (44.6%) and from the Physical Education course (22.29%). The participants reported median of 20.0 (Interquartile range, IQR. 0.0-60.0) and 0.0 (IQR. 0.0-30.0) minutes/day for walking, 30.0 (IQR. 0.0-60.0) and 10.0 (IQR. 0.0-60.0) minutes/day for moderate activities; and 20.0 (IQR. 0.0-60.0) and 0.0 (IQR. 0.0-6.0) minutes/day for vigorous activities (IQR 1.0-5.0), for questionnaire first and second application, respectively. All variables showed acceptable reliability (Spearman’s correlation coefficient ≥ 0.30 and p < 0.05).

Conclusions. The IPAQ short version, in the online format, presents acceptable reliability. The questionnaire is an alternative to measure physical activity in a pandemic period.