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International Physical Activity Questionnaire (Short Form)

IPAQ-SF
health sciencespsychologyFree for research use

Permission: Free for research use. Free for non-commercial academic research, with no licence fee. Cite the original publication.

A 7-item self-report questionnaire estimating physical activity (vigorous, moderate, walking) and sitting time over the past seven days, yielding MET-minutes per week.

Items
7
Response format
Open-ended frequency (days/week) and duration (minutes/day)
Version
1.0
Subscales
4

Ready-to-cite methods sentence

Physical activity was assessed with the short-form International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-SF; Craig et al., 2003), a 7-item measure with acceptable test-retest reliability (pooled ρ = .76 for the short form across 12 countries) that yields weekly MET-minutes and low/moderate/high activity categories.

Citing this in a methods section? This scale spans more than one discipline, so the style depends on where you publish. See the APA 7 or Vancouver guides, or compare all six citation styles.

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Reliability & validation

Validation population
Adults across 12 countries (Craig et al., 2003)
Test–retest
0.76

Subscales

Vigorous activityModerate activityWalkingSitting

Known limitations

Self-report over-estimates activity relative to accelerometry, and recall of durations is imprecise; best treated as a categorical classifier rather than a precise dose.

Original citation

Craig, C. L., Marshall, A. L., Sjöström, M., Bauman, A. E., Booth, M. L., Ainsworth, B. E., Pratt, M., Ekelund, U., Yngve, A., Sallis, J. F., & Oja, P. (2003). International Physical Activity Questionnaire: 12-country reliability and validity. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 35(8), 1381-1395.

https://doi.org/10.1249/01.MSS.0000078924.61453.FB

Questions researchers ask

What does the IPAQ-SF measure?

A 7-item self-report questionnaire estimating physical activity (vigorous, moderate, walking) and sitting time over the past seven days, yielding MET-minutes per week.

How many items does the IPAQ-SF have?

The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (Short Form) (IPAQ-SF) has 7 items across 4 subscales: Vigorous activity, Moderate activity, Walking, Sitting.

Is the IPAQ-SF free to use?

The IPAQ-SF is free to use for non-commercial academic research. You don't need to pay a license fee, but you should always cite the original publication.

Is the IPAQ-SF reliable?

Validation studies report test–retest reliability of 0.76. See the reliability section for the population studied and full statistics.

Who developed the IPAQ-SF, and how do I cite it?

Craig, C. L., Marshall, A. L., Sjöström, M., Bauman, A. E., Booth, M. L., Ainsworth, B. E., Pratt, M., Ekelund, U., Yngve, A., Sallis, J. F., & Oja, P. (2003). International Physical Activity Questionnaire: 12-country reliability and validity. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 35(8), 1381-1395. https://doi.org/10.1249/01.MSS.0000078924.61453.FB

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Library entry verified September 2026. Metadata is provided for reference; item wording is available inside Folio Surveyor, subject to each instrument's licensing.