2025/01/01 by John R. Sirard, T Kumar, Robert T. Marcotte +4 · 1 voice
Medicine · #Cardiovascular and exercise physiology #Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet #Physical Activity and Health
paper · doi:10.1123/jmpb.2024-0031
openalex publication_date 2025/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/26
Few accelerometer data processing methods target adolescents, and the appropriateness of child or adult methods in adolescent samples is not clear. Purpose : The purpose of this study was to validate commonly used youth and adult methods for processing accelerometer data into intensity categories in a sample of 13- to 17-year-old adolescents, using free-living direct observation as the criterion measure. Methods : N = 42 (mean ± SD ; age = 15.2 ± 1.5 years, 50% male) engaged in their usual behaviors during four 1-hr video-recorded free-living sessions. Participants simultaneously wore right hip and nondominant wrist accelerometers, both sampling at 80 Hz. Videos were annotated for all changes in behaviors lasting ≥1 s, and age-adjusted metabolic equivalent values categorized sedentary behavior, light, moderate, vigorous, as well as moderate and vigorous physical activity. Accelerometer data were processed using 12 youth and nine adult methods, then synchronized with the video annotations. Agreement statistics, bias with 95% confidence interval, and mean absolute percent error were calculated for minutes spent in each intensity category. Results : No method was unbiased for all intensity categories. The Crouter 2015 youth wrist (vertical axis and vector magnitude) methods and the Hildebrand 2014 adult hip method were not biased for moderate physical activity, vigorous physical activity, or moderate and vigorous physical activity. Several other youth and adult methods were unbiased for sedentary behavior, including those using the 100 counts/min hip cut point. Conclusion : No youth or adult method accurately classified all intensity categories in this sample of adolescents. Additional methods need to be independently validated or developed to provide a method or a set of compatible methods that can work across life stage transitions.