Research Article

PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF AN OBSERVATION SYSTEM FOR RECORDING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN CHILDREN

  1. Tracy A. Larson,
  2. Matthew P. Normand*,
  3. Kristin M. Hustyi

Article first published online: 1 JUL 2011

DOI: 10.1002/bin.332

Issue

Behavioral Interventions

Behavioral Interventions

Volume 26, Issue 3, pages 193–203, July 2011

Additional Information

How to Cite

Larson, T. A., Normand, M. P. and Hustyi, K. M. (2011), PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF AN OBSERVATION SYSTEM FOR RECORDING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN CHILDREN. Behav. Intervent., 26: 193–203. doi: 10.1002/bin.332

Author Information

  1. University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA, USA

*Matthew Normand, University of the Pacific, Department of Psychology, 3601 Pacific Ave, Stockton, CA 95211, USA. E-mail: mnormand@pacific.edu

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 18 JUL 2011
  2. Article first published online: 1 JUL 2011

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Although mechanical means of measuring physical activity are available, they cannot provide information about the context in which such activity occurs. Therefore, direct-observation systems remain essential tools for studying physical activity. The Observational System for Recording Physical Activity in Children (OSRAC) is a direct-observation system for recording physical activity and associated environmental variables. We evaluated the concurrent validity of the OSRAC physical activity codes with two types of mechanical measures of physical activity: pedometers and heart-rate monitors. The results indicate that heart rates and step totals generally covaried with the OSRAC activity-level codes, suggesting that these codes are valid measures of physical activity in preschool children. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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