Objectives: The European Physical Activity Surveillance System (EUPASS) research project compared several physical activity (PA) measures (including the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ)) in a time series survey in eight countries of the European Union. The present paper describes first results provided by the different instruments regarding PA participation, frequency and duration, both at the European and national levels. The purpose of the present study is to explore and compare the specific quality and usefulness of different indicators rather than to provide valid and reliable prevalence data. Thus, the main focus is on discussion of the methodological implications of the results presented. Methods: A time series survey based on computer-aided telephone interviewing (CATI) was carried out in eight European countries over a six-month period. The study provided for about 100 realised interviews per month in each country (i.e. , 600 per country). Descriptive statistical analysis was used to: (1) report IPAQ results on vigorous, moderate and light PA and sitting, as well as on the overall measure of calories expenditure (MET min 21 ), in the different countries; (2) compare these results with national PA indicators tested in EUPASS; and (3) compare IPAQ results with other European studies. Results: First, the scores for the different PA categories as well as for the overall measure of calories expenditure provided by the IPAQ appeared rather high compared with previous studies and public health recommendations. Second, the different PA measurements used in EUPASS provided completely different results. For example, national indicators used in Germany and The Netherlands to date neither corresponded in absolute values (e.g. means of PA or sitting) nor correlated with the IPAQ in any significant way. Third, comparing EU countries, the ranking for vigorous, moderate and light activities by use of the IPAQ differed from that of other European studies. For example, in the present analysis, German respondents generally showed higher scores for PA than the Finns and the Dutch, while, in contrast, findings from other studies ranked Finland before The Netherlands and Germany. Conclusions: The present analysis highlights some methodological implications of the IPAQ instrument. Among other things, differences in overall scores for PA as well as in the ranking of nations between the present results using IPAQ and other measures and studies may partly be due to the concepts of PA behind the measurements. Further analysis should investigate if the range of PA-related categories provided by the IPAQ is fully appropriate to measure all relevant daily activities; it may also consider the public health implications of mixing up different contexts of PA (e.g. work, leisure-time, transportation) in the IPAQ short version. Keywords Physical activity Measurement Public health International comparisonIn the last two decades, international research has provided plenty of studies to underline the evidence of h...

Objectives: The main objective of this paper is to describe the approach and specific findings of the European Physical Activity Surveillance System (EUPASS) research project. In particular, the analysis presented aims at testing the reliability, comparability and predictive power of different sets of physical activity (PA) indicators. Design: First, a panel study based on computer-aided telephone interview (CATI) was designed to report PA data of a representative, selected group of about 100 persons per country at three points in time. Second, a CATI time series survey was carried out with the goal of realising about 100 interviews per month over six consecutive months. Setting: The project was carried out in eight European countries to support the development of the European Union's (EU) Health Monitoring Programme. Subjects: Random population samples (subjects aged 18 years and older) were drawn from each participating country. Results: While many PA indicators used in EU countries to date as well as the psychosocial and environmental measures tested in the present study had acceptable to good reliability coefficients, the test -retest reliability scores of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) version tested (the short (last 7 days) telephone interview IPAQ; IPAQ-S7T) were rather low. The comparability between extant national PA items and the IPAQ-S7T was low for all countries. The strongest predictors of perceived health were the psychosocial and environmental PA indicators. Conclusions: According to the results of the present study, more research is needed to further investigate and improve the quality of the IPAQ. In addition, the specific predictive power of the tested psychosocial and environmental PA indicators on perceived health should be of particular interest for designing health surveillance activities in the future.

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The recent revival of interest in the potential of preventive medicine, reflected in its re-emergence as a medical specialism and in monitoring and campaigning activity at the local level, has been accompanied by growing interest in the history of public health. In particular, the work of the Medical Officers of Health (MOsH), the doctors appointed by many local authorities after 1850, has come under closer scrutiny. However, whereas historians have acknowledged that the MOsH played a key role in tackling environmental health and infectious disease in the second half of the nineteenth century, judgements have been less favourable for the period since 1900. It is alleged that the MOsH produced repetitive and complacent reports, delayed the introduction of immunization, and were seduced away from public health by hospital administration. Both they and their counterparts in the School Medical Service ignored wider threats to health such as malnutrition and unemployment, and campaigning on these issues was left to other individuals and pressure groups. Furthermore, it is argued that after the establishment of the National Health Service in 1948, MOsH failed to exploit the potential of health education, lagged behind thinking on social work, and were slow to develop services for 'community care'. According to this analysis, the demise of the MOH in the 1974 health service reorganization represented the logical culmination of trends in the previous 75 years. This paper examines the strengths and weaknesses of this interpretation, partly through a case-study based on the Midlands city of Leicester. It argues that, although some MOsH were complacent, all operated within the limitations of important local and national constraints, and that, given these restrictions on their room for manoeuvre, many were remarkably innovative and imaginative. The paper concludes that, until further research is undertaken, the charges levelled against these doctors remain largely unproven.

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