Cardiac Rehabilitation And Quality Of Life Scores

Physical Activity Index (IPAQ) Calculator

Clinical calculation support · Verify results before clinical use

Physical activity assessment

Complete all six fields using whole numbers.

—MET-min/week

Vigorous activity

Activities that require hard physical effort and make you breathe much harder than normal.

Days per week

days

Enter 0–7 days.

Minutes per active day

min

Use the usual duration on an active day. Values below 10 minutes are recoded to 0.

Moderate activity

Activities that require moderate physical effort and make you breathe somewhat harder than normal.

Days per week

days

Enter 0–7 days.

Minutes per active day

min

Use the usual duration on an active day. Values below 10 minutes are recoded to 0.

Walking

Include walking for at least 10 minutes at a time across daily life domains.

Days per week

days

Enter 0–7 days.

Minutes per active day

min

Use the usual duration on an active day. Values below 10 minutes are recoded to 0.

Clear form

About the IPAQ Short Form

The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) Short Form estimates walking, moderate-intensity, and vigorous-intensity activity during the previous 7 days. The protocol is designed primarily for adult population surveillance; it should not be treated as a direct measure of fitness or a standalone clinical decision rule.

Calculation

MET-minutes/week
Walking = 3.3 × minutes/day × days/week
Moderate = 4.0 × minutes/day × days/week
Vigorous = 8.0 × minutes/day × days/week
Total = walking + moderate + vigorous scores

Data processing rules

Activity durations below 10 minutes/day and their associated days are recoded to zero.
For IPAQ Short Form scoring, each activity-duration variable above 180 minutes/day is truncated to 180 minutes.
Cases with a sum of reported walking, moderate, and vigorous time variables greater than 960 minutes are treated as outliers and should be reviewed rather than scored.
Reported days are combined according to the IPAQ scoring convention, capped at 7 days.

Activity category criteria

Category	IPAQ Short Form criteria
Low	Does not meet moderate or high criteria.
Moderate	Any one: vigorous activity ≥3 days for ≥20 min/day; or moderate activity and/or walking ≥5 days for ≥30 min/day; or ≥5 combined days and ≥600 MET-min/week.
High	Any one: vigorous activity ≥3 days and ≥1,500 MET-min/week total; or ≥7 combined days and ≥3,000 MET-min/week total.

Scope and limitations

The questionnaire relies on self-report and can be affected by recall and reporting error. Its activity category is not an individualized exercise prescription. The IPAQ Research Committee developed the protocol primarily for adults aged 15–69 years; use outside this age range requires caution.

References

IPAQ Research Committee.Guidelines for Data Processing and Analysis of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) – Short and Long Forms. Revised November 2005. Full scoring protocol (PDF).

Craig CL, Marshall AL, Sjöström M, et al.International Physical Activity Questionnaire: 12-country reliability and validity. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2003;35(8):1381–1395. doi: 10.1249/01.MSS.0000078924.61453.FB.

Important distinctionThe MET-minutes/week score is a continuous estimate; Low, Moderate, and High are separate categorical classifications defined by the IPAQ scoring protocol. Neither should be interpreted as a diagnosis.

Clinical disclaimer: This calculator supports scoring of self-reported activity using the IPAQ Short Form protocol. It does not assess exercise contraindications, cardiopulmonary fitness, or clinical risk, and must not replace clinical judgment. Confirm unusual responses and consider the patient’s age, symptoms, comorbidities, and assessment context.