[Methodology to evaluation the habitual physical activity in men aged 50 years or more].

Objective: To describe the methodology for evaluating habitual physical activity that was adopted for a survey among the male population utilizing a questionnaire validated earlier.

Methods: The Baecke questionnaire on habitual physical activity was translated into Portuguese and then back-translated into English by two anglophone teachers. The final version of the questionnaire was applied in a cross-sectional epidemiological study done on 326 men aged 50 years or over. The internal consistency among the questions was evaluated using the Cronbach a statistic. The Spearman correlation coefficients between the habitual physical activity scores were calculated. Partial correlation coefficients with adjustments for age, body mass index and schooling were also calculated.

Results: There was satisfactory internal consistency in relation to the magnitudes of occupational physical activity and leisure-time physical exercises. Significant correlation was obtained between all the physical activity scores and the total habitual physical activity score, independent of age, body mass index and schooling.

Conclusions: The Baecke questionnaire was found to be a practical instrument for assessing habitual physical activity that is quickly applied and easily understood, and it is recommended for epidemiological studies in Brazil.