Daily activity Borg scale (DABS): using the Borg's RPE scale for assessing the level of daily physical activity

Abstract

Problem statement and approach: Levels of daily physical activity impact health and well-being, yet measuring daily activity of large populations is challenging. These challenges include, but are not limited to: the definition of the activity and its intensity, the reliability and validity of self-report questionnaires, and the limitations of mobile and wearable devices and applications. Such challenges are increased when undertaking populationbased studies or when there is a need to retrospectively assess daily physical activity. The current study introduces a new tool, the Daily Activity Borg Scale (DABS), which is based on Borg's ratings of perceived exertion, and uses participants' reports of their perceived exertion in the past 24 hours, by the hour, on a 1-9 exertion scale. This study assesses the feasibility and validity of the DABS. Materials and methods: Two hundred and ninety-eight participants (105; 35.2% males) took part in this study. Each participant reported his/her perceived exertion of the past 24 hours (hour by hour). These perceived exertion reports were then compared to reports of actual physical activities of the participants, as well as the change in perceived exertion during the previous 24 hours. Results: Taking <10 minutes to fill out, the DABS is a handy self-reporting tool for assessing daily physical activity intensity levels. The DABS provided the expected perceived level of activity throughout the 24 hours of the day and was significantly associated (p<. 001) with reports of actual physical activities. Discussion: The DABS provides a simple yet robust measure of daily physical activity, by utilising the well-established Borg ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) scale to record the most recent daily physical activity. The results demonstrated strong associations between the perceived exertion and the type of physical activity reported, as well as an alignment between the daily hour-by-hour changes in exertion with the expected daily activity. Conclusions: The DABS was found to be a valid and feasible tool for assessing daily physical activity for large-scale populations.