Finn K J, Specker B
School of HPELS, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls 50614-0241, USA.
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2000 Oct;32(10):1794-7. doi: 10.1097/00005768-200010000-00021.
The Children's Activity Rating Scale (CARS) is a rating scale that is used in direct observation of physical activity in children. Direct observation is costly and tedious, and accuracy may decrease as the observation period lengthens. Recently, motion sensors have gained acceptance for assessment of physical activity. The purpose of this study was to compare 6 h of activity levels using simultaneous monitoring of preschool aged children with CARS and the Actiwatch (Mini-mitter Company Inc.) activity monitor.
A total of 40 children had 5-6 h (mean of 5.9 h) of direct observation while wearing a monitor on the waist. Simultaneous 3-min mean CARS scores and 3-min activity counts were matched for each subject.
The range for the mean 3-min CARS scores ranged from 1.00 to 4.50. The 3-min activity counts ranged from 0 to 9,695 with a mean of 670 (median 243). The within child correlations between the 3-min CARS score and the 3-min sensor readings ranged from 0.03 to 0.92 (median of 0.74). We found the correlation coefficients were higher in those children who were more active, probably due to the larger ranges in the CARS scores. When using mixed model repeated measures, sensor readings were significantly associated with CARS (P < 0.001).
Our results indicate that the 3-min CARS score correlates with 3-min activity counts, favoring the use of the activity monitors in assessing physical activity in preschool-aged children.
儿童活动评分量表（CARS）是一种用于直接观察儿童身体活动的评分量表。直接观察成本高且繁琐，并且随着观察期延长，准确性可能会降低。近年来，运动传感器已被广泛用于身体活动的评估。本研究的目的是通过同时使用CARS和Actiwatch（Mini-mitter公司）活动监测器监测学龄前儿童，比较6小时的活动水平。
共有40名儿童在腰部佩戴监测器的情况下进行了5 - 6小时（平均5.9小时）的直接观察。为每个受试者匹配了同时段的3分钟平均CARS评分和3分钟活动计数。
3分钟平均CARS评分范围为1.00至4.50。3分钟活动计数范围为0至9695，平均为670（中位数为243）。儿童个体内3分钟CARS评分与3分钟传感器读数之间的相关性范围为0.03至0.92（中位数为0.74）。我们发现，在活动量较大的儿童中，相关系数更高，这可能是由于CARS评分范围更大所致。使用混合模型重复测量时，传感器读数与CARS显著相关（P < 0.001）。
我们的结果表明，3分钟CARS评分与3分钟活动计数相关，这有利于使用活动监测器来评估学龄前儿童的身体活动。
