Perceived and objectively measured physical activity in high school students: is there any link between aerobic fitness, psychological responses and acute exercise?

Background and aim The purpose of this study was to compare the amount of physical activity and sedentary time from the self-administered, long version of the IPAQ with an objective measure of them using an accelerometer in a high school student’s sample. The present study also examined whether the amount of physical activity and sedentary time is related to aerobic fitness or psychological responses to acute exercise. Methods Thirty adolescents from an Italian high school wore accelerometers for five days and completed the IPAQ questionnaire. Criterion-related validity was determined by Spearman correlations between IPAQ questionnaire scores and minutes of accelerometer-measured sedentary time, moderate and vigorous activities. Participants also completed a maximal graded exercise test to assess aerobic fitness, expressed as V_O2max, and psychological responses (i.e., perceived exertion and affective valence) to acute exercise. Results Spearman correlation coefficients between IPAQ questionnaire scores and minutes of accelerometer-measured sedentary time and moderate activities were low (q = -0.19 and q = 0.23, respectively) and not statistically significant (p values[0.05), but not for vigorous activities (q = 0.62; p.05). No significant correlation was found between minutes of accelerometer measured sedentary time, moderate, and vigorous activity and aerobic fitness or psychological responses to acute exercise (p values[0.05). Conclusion This study identifies prolonged time spent being sedentary each day and poor perception of individual sedentary time and moderate activities among high school students, irrespective of aerobic fitness and psychological responses to acute exercise. Interventions to minimize sedentary time are recommended to ensure that the school environment does not adversely affect long-term health.