Evaluation of the revised physical activity readiness questionnaire in older adults

Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PARQ) clearance has been recommended prior to low-to-moderate exercise involvement. The measure, however, appears to exclude a high proportion of older adults due to false positive responses. To improve this situation, a revised PARQ was developed (rPARQ). The purpose of this study was to compare the number of exclusions resulting from the PARQ and rPARQ in 60- to 69-yr-old adults. Participants were recruited from Community Nutrition Centers (97 males, 96 females; mean age = 64.82 yr, SD +/- 2.85). At random, half completed the PARQ or rPARQ on day 1 and the respective opposite instrument on day 2. There was a significant decrease in the number of exclusions resulting from the PARQ as compared to the rPARQ (146 to 128, P < 0.001). Percentage of agreement regarding exclusion/inclusion status between the two measures was 87.6% (kappa = 0.71). Responses for the six matched questions were significantly (P < 0.0001) related with contingency and phi coefficients ranging from 0.40 to 0.58 and 0.43 to 0.71, respectively. These results support the concurrent validity of the rPARQ and suggest the revisions have had their intended effect.