The  "EPIC Physical Activity Questionnaire (short version)", "EPAQ-s" or "EPIC-PAQ", is a shortened version of a questionnaire developed between 1991-1992 during a Dutch pilot investigation for use in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. The original longer version of the questionnaire is referred to as the "pre-EPIC questionnaire" or "Pre-EPAQ" (see here). A third questionnaire, under the name "EPIC Physical Activity Questionnaire (second version)" or "EPAQ2" was also later developed for use in the Norfolk cohort of the EPIC study (see here).

The EPAQ-s is composed of four sections with 14 items, and refers to activity during the past twelve months.

The first question is a four-point, mutually exclusive, ordered category concerning physical activity at work. The second question asks about the amount of time spent in hours per week for summer and winter separately in each of the following activities: walking, cycling, gardening, do-it-yourself, physical exercise and housework. The third question asks whether any of the activities in question 2 were engaged in such that it caused sweating or faster heartbeat and, if so, for how many hours during a typical week. The fourth question asks about stair climbing.

The raw data collected by the EPAQ-s have been used to derive the following variables, with varying degrees of reliabilty and validity:

• A simple four level physical activity index (inactive, moderately inactive, moderately active, active)
• Total daily energy expenditure
• Energy expenditure by activity type (walking, cycling, gardening, do-it-yourself, sports, housework, stairs)
• Total physical activity index, based on the cross-classification of occupational activity with combined recreational and household activity

 

Component	Detail
Time frame	Past year
Items	14
Sections	1) Work; 2) Activity by type; 3) Sweating/faster heart rate activities; 4) Stair climbing
Question type	Closed

Output variable	Units
Total daily energy expenditure	kJ/day
Energy expenditure by activity type	kJ/day
Simple four level index	Categories: inactive, moderately inactive, moderately active, active
Total physical activity index	Categories: inactive, moderately inactive, moderately active, active

Resource	Link
PDF of instrument	Internal link

Lifestage	Reliability and validity literature
Adults	Estimation of reproducibility and relative validity of the questions included in the EPIC Physical Activity Questionnaire
Adults	Validity and repeatability of a simple index derived from the short physical activity questionnaire used in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study
Adults	Validity and repeatability of the EPIC physical activity questionnaire: a validation study using accelerometers as an objective measure
Adults	Validity of a short questionnaire to assess physical activity in 10 European countries

First author (year)	Title
Julian et al. (2016)	Fracture Risk in Relation to Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Physical Activity: Results from the EPIC-Norfolk Cohort Study
Garcia-Esquinas et al. (2017)	Television viewing time as a risk factor for frailty and functional limitations in older adults: results from 2 European prospective cohorts