Note: SBRN cannot provide pdf versions of the questionnaires below or grant permission for use. If you are interested in using a questionnaire, please use the link associated with the questionnaire to contact the authors/owners of the questionnaire.

Numerous questionnaires are currently available for the measurement of sedentary behaviours. The psychometric properties of questionnaires used in the pediatric populations have recently been reviewed by both Hidding et el (available here), and Lubans et al. (available here). These reviews serve as excellent resources on the pediatric literature.

Further, in 2017 Prince et al. (available here) reviewed all English-language questionnaires used to assess sedentary behaviour in national- and international- population surveillance surveys.  They also collected the psychometric properties of all available English language questionnaires in both pediatric and adult populations. They also make recommendations on preferred question wording, resulting in the International Sedentary Assessment Tool (ISAT).  The ISAT detailed in this paper, and the English version can be downloaded as a Word document here.

The data on specific questionnaires included in the Prince et al. review are included below.  These databases are open to editing, and therefore SBRN members are encouraged to add questionnaires to the appropriate database as they come available (please add a link to the questionnaire itself, and request permission before including specific questions from questionnaires which are under copyright).  Given that these databases only cover English-language surveys, we are happy to begin similar databases for other languages.  If you are interested in leading a database in a specific language, please contact trsaunders (at) upei (dot) ca.

Finally, below is a list of some of the most widely used English-language questionnaires for measuring sedentary behaviour. However, many other questionnaires have been described in the above reviews.  Thus, for a full list, please see the appropriate database above.

Sedentary Behaviour Questionnaires

1. Bouchard Physical Activity Questionnaire

Description: 3-day activity diary, with each day divided into 96 periods of 15 minutes each. Participants asked code the main activity performed during each 15-minute period using a scale from 1 to 9, ranging from sleeping (category 1) to intense manual work (category 9). Sedentary behaviour can be calculated as the sum of time identified as being in category 2 (“Sitting: eating, listening, writing, etc”). (Source)

Available from American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

2. Previous-Day Recall of Active and Sedentary Behaviours

Description: An interviewer administered previous-day recall of sedentary and active behaviours in adults and adolescents.  Validation study concluded that “Correlations between the PDR and the activPAL were high, systematic reporting errors were low, and the validity of the PDR was comparable with the ActiGraph.”

Available from Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

3. International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ)

Description: A questionnaire that can be administered in person or over the phone.  Participants are asked to to list the amount of time that they spend sitting at work, at home, while doing course work, during leisure time (including watching television), as well as time spent in a motor vehicle.

Available as both a short-form and long-form questionnaire in 20+ languages/dialects via the IPAQ website.

4. Marshall Sitting Questionnaire

Description: A questionnaire that assessed time spent sitting on weekdays and weekend days: 1) traveling to and from places, 2) at work, 3) watching television, 4) using a computer at home, and 5) for leisure, not including television.

Results and from validation study: “Reliability coefficients were high for weekday sitting time at work, watching television, and using a computer at home (r = 0.84-0.78) but lower for weekend days across all domains (r = 0.23-0.74). Validity coefficients were highest for weekday sitting time at work and using a computer at home (r = 0.69-0.74). With the exception of computer use and watching television for women, validity of the weekend-day sitting time items was low.

Validation/reliability study available from Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

5. Workplace Sitting Questionnaire (adapted from Marshall Questionnaire)

Description: A measure of total and domain-specific sitting time based on work and non-workdays in adults.  Asks about sitting time (1) while travelling to and from places; (2) while at work; (3) while watching TV; (4) while using a computer at home; and (5) while doing other leisure activities on work and non-workdays.

Results from validation study: “Measuring total sitting time based on a workday, non-workday and on average had fair to excellent test–retest reliability (ICC=0.46–0.90) and had sufficient criterion validity against accelerometry in women (r=0.22–0.46) and men (r=0.18–0.29). Measuring domain-specific sitting at work on a workday was also reliable (ICC=0.63) and valid (r=0.45).

Available from the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

6. SIT-Q

Description: The SIT-Q was developed to assess habitual sedentary behaviour across a variety of domains. It is currently being used in a number of epidemiological studies, including the BETA Trial.

The questionnaire is available for download at the following link: Sit-Q.  You can also download the SIT-Q administration and analytic guide, and the validation paper published in BMC Public Health.

6.5 SIT-Q 7-d

Description: An expanded version of the SIT-Q using a 7-day reference frame.  The validation study is currently in press at Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise (a link will be provided once the study is available online).

The questionnaire is available here,  the validation paper is available here..

7. The Sedentary Behaviour Questionnaire (SBQ)

Description (from the validation paper): “The SBQ was designed to assess the amount of time spent doing 9 behaviors (watching television, playing computer/video games, sitting while listening to music, sitting and talking on the phone, doing paperwork or office work, sitting and reading, playing a musical instrument, doing arts and crafts, sitting and driving/riding in a car, bus, or train). The 9 items were completed separately for weekdays and weekend days. Wording for weekday reporting was, “on a typical weekday, how much time do you spend (from when you wake up until you go to bed) doing the following?”

Results: “ICCs were acceptable for all items and the total scale (range = .51-.93). For men, there were significant relationships of SBQ items with IPAQ sitting time and BMI.

The questionnaire is available here, while the validation paper is available from the Journal of Physical Activity and Health.

8. The Adolescent Sedentary Activity Questionnaire (ASAQ)

Description: A questionnaire designed for use in adolescents, which provides information related to screen time, education (e.g. homework), travel, cultural (reading, crafts, etc) and social (relaxing with friends, going to church, etc) sedentary behaviours.  Has been shown to be valid, reliable, and sensitive to changes in sedentary time.

The questionnaire is available here, and the validation article is available here.

9. Rapid Assessment Disuse Index (RADI)

Description:  A tool for rapidly quantifying and tracking the sedentary time and low levels of daily lifestyle physical activity among primary care patients.

Results of the validation study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine:  “RADI was temporally stable (intraclass correlation coefficients 0.79), and a higher score was significantly correlated with greater sedentary time (ρ=0.40; p<0.01), fewer sedentary to active transitions (ρ=-0.42; p<0.01), and less light-intensity physical activity (ρ=-0.40; p<0.01). The ability of RADI to detect patients with high levels of sedentary time was fair (AUC=0.72).”

Available via the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

10. Measure of Older Adults' Sedentary Time (MOST)

Description: A questionnaire that assesses time spent in behaviors common among older adults: watching television, computer use, reading, socializing, transport and hobbies, and a summary measure (total sedentary time).

Results from a validation study: “Test-retest reliability was excellent for television viewing time (ρ (95% CI) = 0.78 (0.63-0.89)), computer use (ρ (95% CI) = 0.90 (0.83-0.94)), and reading (ρ (95% CI) = 0.77 (0.62-0.86)); acceptable for hobbies (ρ (95% CI) = 0.61 (0.39-0.76)); and poor for socializing and transport (ρ < 0.45). Total sedentary time had acceptable test-retest reliability (ρ (95% CI) = 0.52 (0.27-0.70)) and validity (ρ (95% CI) = 0.30 (0.02-0.54)). Self-report total sedentary time was similarly responsive to change (RS = 0.47) as accelerometer-derived sedentary time (RS = 0.39).

MOST questionnaire is available here.  Validation study available via Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, and an example of its use is available in PLOS ONE.

11. Past-day Adults' Sedentary Time (PAST)

Description: A 7-item questionnaire that asks questions about sedentary behaviours on the previous day.

Results from validation study, published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise: “The PAST had fair to good test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.50, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.32-0.64). At baseline, the correlation between PAST and activPAL sit/lie time was r = 0.57 (95% CI = 0.39-0.71). The mean difference between PAST at baseline and retest was -25 min (5.2%), 95% limits of agreement = -5.9 to 5.0 h, and the activPAL sit/lie time was -9 min (1.8%), 95% limits of agreement = -4.9 to 4.6 h. The PAST showed small but significant responsiveness (-0.44, 95% CI = -0.92 to -0.04); responsiveness of activPAL sit/lie time was not significant.

PAST questionnaire available here, validation study available via MSSE.

12. LASA Sedentary Behavior Questionnaire

Description: A 10-item questionnaire that asks about weekday and weekend day sedentary behaviour.

Results from the validation study, published in BMC Geriatrics: “Mean total self-reported sedentary time was 10.4 (SD 3.5) h/d and was not significantly different from mean total objective sedentary time (10.2 (1.2) h/d, p = 0.63). Total self-reported sedentary time on an average day (sum often activities) correlated moderately (Spearman’s r = 0.35, p < 0.01) with total objective sedentary time. The correlation improved when using the sum of six activities (r = 0.46, p < 0.01), and was much higher than when using TV watching only (r = 0.22, p = 0.05). The test-retest reliability of the sum of six sedentary activities was 0.71 (95% CI 0.57-0.81).”

The questionnaire is available here, and the validation study is available here.

13. Occupational Sitting and Physical Activity Questionnaire (OSPAQ)

Description: A questionnaire that focuses on workplace sitting and physical activity.

Results from the validation study, published in MSSE: “The test–retest intraclass correlation coefficients for occupational sitting, standing, and walking for OSPAQ ranged from 0.73 to 0.90, while that for the modified MOSPA-Q [a separate questionnaire] ranged from 0.54 to 0.89. Comparison of sitting measures with accelerometers showed higher Spearman correlations for the OSPAQ (r = 0.65) than for the modified MOSPA-Q (r = 0.52). Criterion validity correlations for occupational standing and walking measures were comparable for both instruments with accelerometers (standing:r = 0.49; walking:r = 0.27–0.29).”

The questionnaire is available here, and the validation study is available via MSSE.

14. NIGHTLY‐WEEK‐U (Adapted from the Past‐day Adults' Sedentary Time—University (PAST‐U))

Description:The NIGHTLY‐WEEK‐U retains the original domains found in the PAST‐U and collects weekly sedentary times of undergraduate students. The NIGHTLY‐WEEK‐U collects sedentary time each day throughout the week, rather than retrospectively at the end of the week.

Results from the validation study, published in Translational Sports Medicine: “The average sedentary time (ST) captured using the NIGHTLY‐WEEK‐U was 0.21 hours lower than the criterion measure activPAL4™ (ie, 10.50 vs 10.29 hours per day), with a 95% limit of agreement ranging from −1.75 to 2.17 hours. The NIGHTLY‐WEEK‐U provides a superior measure of ST compared with the PAST‐WEEK‐U and potentially other weekly measures of ST.”

The validation study is available via Translational Sports Medicine.

 

 

77 Comments

    • Renz says:

      Thank you for this! It’s very helpful in my research. Last thing, can you give me the criteria for sedentary behaviour? . I appreciate it.

      • saba says:

        hi..can u share the criteria for sedentary behaviour to me.i need it for my research work

        • Nika Naglič says:

          Hey, you could forward me sedentary behaviour questionarre and workplace marshall sitting questionarre, i can not find it anywhere, i need it for my research please, thank you.

      • SITI NURHIDAYAH MOHD SHOKRI says:

        Hi, i am siti nurhidayah and i am student of university Malaysia . For this year i need to work on my research project which topic more on the association between sedentary behavior and mental health among university student in Malaysia. To get assess to sedentary behavior i need the SEDENTARY BEHAVIOR QUESTIONNAIRE can u send me the link or this questionnaire in PDF to my email please? it is very meaningful and useful for me .

        • hafizah says:

          did you get it?

        • Matilus Vanessa says:

          Bonjou, je suis une étudiante en dernière année de mon master en sciences de la santé publique à Université Libre de Bruxelles en Belgique.je vais travailler sur le sedentarisme pour mon memoire puis je avoir accès à votre questionnaire.

      • Sunita says:

        Could you please forward this criteria to me.I appreciate it.

    • saba says:

      hi,
      whats the scoring protocol for SBQ.kindly let me know

      • rabail mustansar says:

        hi saba kindly can you send me SBQ in pdf form. I shall really be grateful to you.

      • Namra Amber says:

        Hi Saba kindly send m Sedentary behavior questionnaire PDF .. and plz help me how to score

      • Vishnupriya says:

        Hi I am doing my thesis on title,”Effect of sedentary behavior on glycemic control among type2 diabetic patients in urban field practice area chennai.Can you suggest the validated sedentary behavior questionnaire done in India

      • Tirth Rambhia says:

        Hey do you have the SBQ questionnaire??
        It would be really helpful for me to have it for my research work.I hope you would be willing to help me out with the access to the questionnaires!!
        Thank you in anticipation!!!?

        • Anis says:

          Hallo
          Saya membutuhkan kuisioner sedentary behavior. Bisakah anda mengirimkan kuisioner sedentary behavior kepada saya ?
          Terimakasih

      • Sonia Babar says:

        Saba if you get it please let me know scoring of SBQ it will very helpful for my research work i appreciate it.

    • Thits says:

      Whats your scoring pls

    • SITI NURHIDAYAH MOHD SHOKRI says:

      Hi, i am siti nurhidayah and i am student of university Malaysia . For this year i need to work on my research project which topic more on the association between sedentary behavior and mental health among university student in Malaysia. To get assess to sedentary behavior i need the SEDENTARY BEHAVIOR QUESTIONNAIRE can u send me the link or this questionnaire in PDF to my email please? it is very meaningful and useful for me .

    • Kirsten Alcazar says:

      Hi! Can anyone send me the pdf form of SBQ? I really need it for my thesis! Thank you! 🙂

    • Natalie Chin says:

      Hi there! I am Natalie from International Medical University Malaysia. I am currently doing a study on sedentary lifestyle and the effects on the weakness of the quadratus lumborum muscle. I hope that I could use yours Sedentary Behaviour Questionnaire and the SIT-Q as well. I hope to hear from you soon, it’ll be such a great help to me. Thank you

    • Salina Biggs says:

      I am in desperate need of the SBQ as I need to assess my own score for a research assignment I am working on if anyone is able to send it in PDF format, it would be greatly appreciated

    • Yana says:

      Hi, good day!
      I would to grant permission to use the SBQ Questionnaire for my research study.
      How can I get the SBQ Questionnaire form?
      Hope to hear from you soon. Thank you.

      • Abdulmalik says:

        Hello am Abdulmalik muhibideen am carrying out my project topic as an undergraduate physiotherapy student in Nigerian , pls I need u to help with SBQ to carry out my research and any article if possible

    • Charis Ang says:

      Hi there! I am Charis from UCSI University Malaysia. I am currently doing a research on impact of COVID-19 pandemic on sedentary lifestyle of young adults. May i request for your Sedentary Behaviour Questionnaire and the SIT-Q as well. Hope to hear from you soon, thank you!

    • Beberly Panerio says:

      permission to access the PdF for The Sedentary Behavior Questionnaire.Thank you.

    • Abd Aladheem says:

      Hi
      I have 2 questions the 1st is , who is the publisher of The Adolescent Sedentary Activity Questionnaire (ASAQ) ?
      the 2nd is , how do score the of this scale ? Do the mints and hours of sedentary time = the scores of the measurement ?

    • Justine Bengdaen says:

      Good afternoon, I am a researcher that is conducting a research about sedentary behaviour, can I ask permission to adapt your research questions for my study so that I can also conduct my research ?

  1. Tasie says:

    Hi…thanks for this, it was very helpful. Please I need the scoring protocol for sedentary behavior questionnaire(SBQ). I have searched everywhere for it but I have not come across it. If you can even give me a link of studies that used I’m the SBQ for data collection, I will be very greatful. I need a reply as soon as possible. Thanks

  2. Dr. Ekta Bhushan Satsangi says:

    can you please send the key for sedentary behavior questionnaire.

    • Daniela Castañeda says:

      Can you please send the SIT-Q administration and analytic guide?, the link says page not found. Thanks.

    • saba says:

      can u plz share the key with me too.if u have

    • Nika Naglič says:

      Hello,

      my name is Nika Naglič and i am an Occupatational therapy student in Slovenia. I am writing my diploma and i would like to use sedentary behaviour guiestionnaire.

      I am wondering if maybe, you can forward questionnare to me, if you have it.

      Thank you for your answer

      Best regards
      Nika Naglič

  3. Jordi Vilaro says:

    I’m a researcher of the Global Research on Wellbeing group, Ramon Llull University in Barcelona.

    We are interested in to translate and validate some of the questionnaires into spanish.

    Should we have this possibility? Do we have to ask permision to SBRN?

    Thanks

  4. Aries says:

    Hi…thanks for this, it was very helpful. Please I need the scoring protocol for sedentary behavior questionnaire(SBQ). I have searched everywhere for it but I have not come across it. If you can even give me a link of studies that used I’m the SBQ for data collection, I will be very greatful. I need a reply as soon as possible. Thanks

  5. shelby lea stubbs says:

    Hello, does any some know the author and year of the sedentary behavior questionnaire?

    Thanks!

  6. Alberto Aibar Solana says:

    From all these questionnaires… Which one do you think that is better for assessing children?

    Thank you

  7. Sarah F. says:

    The link for the MOST survey is broken. Can you please correct?

    • Jennifer A says:

      I am also attempting to access the MOST questionnaire without success. Please can you advise on how to access?

  8. Travis says:

    Hi all,

    This page was originally created several years ago, and since then some of the links have moved. We will be updating the links this summer.

    FYI – there is no marking key for the SBQ. Researchers can either focus on the time spent in specific types of sedentary behaviour, or take the sum of related behaviours (e.g. screen and non-screen sedentary behaviours).

    Travis

    • Jobn says:

      Sir Travis have you already updated the links for SBQ?

      • Rachelle says:

        hi! I’m a graduate student in nursing. Can ask I for the link of SBQ. May I ask permission to use the said questionnaire as my tool in data gathering in making my research..thank you..hoping to get a positive response.

  9. Gemma says:

    Hi all,

    Does anyone know how to handle missing data from the Marshall Sitting Questionniare? Unsure whether to assume these missing items are ”0” or to exclude these people from my anlaysis (would like to avoid!). I also don’t want to substitute means as the sample is modest.

    Also wondering if anyone has any advice on handling data from this questionnaire when the total time spent sitting per day adds up to more than 24 hours? (i.e. participant has maybe read question as weekly total rather than daily estimate?) In these examples dividing by 5 for weekday and 2 for weekend brings the numbers in line with the other participants responses however unsure if this would be acceptable.

    Many thanks in advance,
    Gemma

  10. Majida Mansoor says:

    Respected sir,
    I am Majida Mansoor student of Foundation University Rawalpindi Campus Psychology department Pakistan undertaking a research on the topic” Impact of digital devices use on children’s behavioral and emotional well-being: Moderating role of parental control. I need your permission for the use of scale”Screen time-based sedentary behavior for adolescent ” for my Master desertion along with its details and can i use this scale for smaller children’s as well of age range 6-14. looking forward for your favorable response.
    Best Regards,
    Majida Mansoor

  11. Tirth Rambhia says:

    Respected sir,I am a final year physical therapy student from India and i am planning  to do a research on physical activity on sedentary job workers.For which i require the help of your questionnaire which i tried to search on the internet but couldn’t find one.So it is my kind request to you to provide me with the same.I can assure you to be one of the co-author of the study ,when it gets published.
    Thanking you,Yours sincerely,Tirth Rambhia.(INDIA)Contact no: +91-9773688005.E-mailid: tirthrambhia07@gmail.com

  12. Tirth Rambhia says:

    Respected sir,
    I am a final year physical therapy student from India and i am planning  to do a research on sedentary job workers.For which i require the help of your questionnaire either “The sedentary behaviour Questionnaire” or “Workspace sitting questionnaire”So it is my kind request to you to provide me with the same.
    Thanking you,Yours sincerely,Tirth Rambhia.(INDIA)Contact no: +91-9773688005.E-mailid: tirthrambhia07@gmail.com

  13. Fatihatul Aghnia says:

    Respected Sir,
    First of all, I’d like to introduce my self to you. My name is Fatihatul Aghnia and I am an student college from Universitas Indonesia. Im currently at the stage of working on my assignment to get a bachelor’s degree.
    The reason why I send you this email because I planned to do a research about sedentary lifestyle among student college in Indonesia. To do this research, I kinda need your instruments “The Sedentary Behavior Questionnaire”. Thus I would be really happy, if you could tell me how could I get the instruments?
    Thank you very much for reading my comment. It is an honour for me if you sould reply my comment and respond my request.

    Sincerely,
    Fatihatul Aghnia
    Student College from Universitas Indonesia
    email: fatihatulaghnia30@gmail.com

  14. Micael says:

    hi,
    whats the scoring protocol for SBQ.kindly let me know

  15. longfei says:

    why i can not get the SBQ? can u give it to my email? thank u

  16. stanic says:

    Hi, can anyone tell me how can I get the SBQ questionnaire? I’m doing my final year research to get my degree, please help me, thank you!

  17. Namra Amber says:

    Kindly send measure of older Adult sedentary time (MOST) permission .

  18. Amy says:

    I’m needing information on how to score. What numbers are we looking at to categorize according to risk?
    Thank you.

  19. Nika Naglič says:

    Hey, you could forward me sedentary behaviour questionarre and workplace marshall sitting questionarre, i can not find it anywhere, i need it for my research please, thank you

  20. Sunita says:

    Could some help me identifying sedentary behaviour from actigraphy signal. How I can identifying the signal by <1.5 metabolic rate.
    I really appreciate it.

  21. Daniel says:

    Hey, have been using the link provided for SBQ but I can’t find it. Can it be sent to my email?

  22. Neimah Elmagadam says:

    Hi I am looking for the SBQ does anyone have the link or pdf?

  23. Dr Mayank Shukla says:

    Please tell which is most valid and reliable scale for SB.

  24. Jeganenthiran says:

    Can I please get the questionaire?

  25. Johan Jamhari says:

    can i get the SBQ questionaire ?

  26. Rizqi siregar says:

    Hello , can i get the sbq questionnare?

  27. Rizqi says:

    Hai , can i get the SBQ questionaire

  28. Fauziah Ambarini says:

    Respected Sir,
    First of all, I am an student college from Indonesia and now i’m currently at the stage of working on my research to get a bachelor’s degree. I need your instruments “Sedentary Behavior Questionnaire” to do my research and I need your permission for the use of questionnaire. Thank you very much, if you could tell me how could I get the instruments?
    I’m very grateful if you could reply my comment and respond my request.

    Sincerely,
    Fauziah Ambarini

  29. yasmin says:

    hello, i want to ask. can i get the permission to access sedentary behaviour questionaire for my final year project and also the scoring for the questionaire

  30. leila says:

    Hi
    I am a researcher in schlool of nursing ahvaz jundishapur university of medical sciences , iran
    I need your instruments “measure Older Adults’ Sedentary time (most)” to do my research and I need your permission for the use of questionnaire. I’m very grateful if you could reply my comment and respond my request.please help me.
    thanks

  31. leila says:

    Thank you for your response. Where should I email for the original publications? please help me

  32. inaki bernabeu anduix says:

    Hi how can i get the the acces to the sedentary behaviour questionnaire for my final proyect?

  33. inaki bernabeu anduix says:

    Hello can i get the sbq questionnaire

  34. Janice M. Bucayong says:

    Hello, can I ask to have a copy of your sedentary behavior questionnaire? Hoping for your positive response. Thank you..

  35. Sophia Mae Acosta says:

    Greetings!

    Can I ask for a copy of your Sedentary Behavior Questionnaire? I badly need it for our research.

    Here’s my email: sophiamaeacosta4@gmail.com

    Hoping for your kind consideration. Thank you.

  36. chenxiaoqian says:

    Can I ask for a copy of your Sedentary Behavior Questionnaire? I badly need it for our research.
    chenxiaoqian7377@mmail.com

  37. naurin says:

    Hi, Can you please tell me which tool is used for older adults to assess sedentary behaviors?

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