Table 2.
Data collection & measurement protocol
| Outcome Measure | Equipment required | Protocol |
|---|---|---|
| Self-Reported Physical Activity | ||
| Average steps/day | Pedometer (Yamax Digiwalker SW-200 with security strap) | • Participants wear pedometers during waking hours for a 7-day period (putting pedometer on upon waking and removing immediately before sleeping), but not during showering/bathing • Participants are asked to wear the pedometer at the waist, centered over their most dominant foot • Participants record the number of steps completed each day on a paper-based tracking form |
| Total physical activity (MET-min/weeka) | International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) – Short Form [43] | • Self-completed paper‐based questionnaire • Participants recall information on vigorous activities, moderate activities, walking, and sitting • Sedentary time is measured with a single question (minutes spent sitting on a typical week day) • The IPAQ provides guidelines for data processing and score creation |
| Time spent in sedentary activity (min/day) | ||
| Clinical Measurements | ||
| Weight (kg and percentage of baseline weight) | Digital Weight Scale (Tanita HD 351) | • Light clothing, no shoes and empty pockets • Blinded assessor post-baseline in private area |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | Digital weight scale (Tanita HD‐351) Portable stadiometer (seca 213) |
• BMI calculated using the participant’s objectively measured height and weight • Height measured without shoes |
| Waist circumference (cm) | Tape measure | • Follows protocol outlined by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada [44] • Two measurements taken to record an average; if measurements differ by more than 5 mm, a third measurement is taken and used in the average |
| Systolic Blood Pressure (mmHg) | Digital BP monitor (BP Tru BPM-100) | • Participants sit quietly for 5 min prior to the first measurement; 3 measurements will be taken, 2 min apart. The first one is discarded, and the average of the last two is recorded. • Feet flat on the floor, arm free of clothing, cuff at the level of heart and arm resting, same arm used (left arm preferred), no talking |
| Diastolic Blood Pressure (mmHg) | ||
| Self-Reported Eating | ||
| Fatty Food Score | Modified version of the Dietary Instrument for Nutrition Education (DINE) [46] | • Self-completed paper-based questionnaire • Participants recall eating habits over the last 7 days • Methods published by FFIT will be followed to calculate a fatty food score (possible range 8–68) and sugary food score (possible range 3–16), with higher scores indicative of higher consumption • Fruit and vegetable consumption is measured with a single question |
| Sugary Food Score | ||
| Fruit and vegetable consumption | ||
| Total healthful eating score | Starting the Conversation [45] | • Self-completed paper-based questionnaire • Designed for dietary assessment and intervention in a clinical setting • Participants recall eating habits over the past few months (on average) on 8 different items • A total healthful eating score (possible range 0–16) is calculated, whereby a lower score indicates a more healthful diet |
| Health-Related Quality of Life | ||
| Self-Rated Health [visual analog scale (VAS) score] | European Quality of Life 5 Dimensions Questionnaire - 3 Level Version (EQ‐5D- 3 L) [48] | • Self-completed paper-based questionnaire • For purposes of this study, the VAS score will be used to assess current state of health on a scale from 0 (worst imaginable state of health) to 100 (best imaginable state of health) |
aMETs (metabolic equivalents) are multiples of the resting metabolic rate; MET-minute = multiplying the MET score of an activity by the minutes performed