Comparison of physical activity and sedentary time measured with the ActiGraph GT3X-BT and Actical accelerometers.

Overall agreement between the ActiGraph GT3X-BT and Actical accelerometers ranged from poor to excellent depending on the physical activity intensity and age group.

• A convenience sample of 47 adults (aged 18 to 79 years) and 36 children and youth (aged 3 to 17 years) participated
• Both devices were worn on the waist simultaneously for seven consecutive days
• CHMS protocols were used for data collection
• Descriptive, correlation, and agreement statistics were used to compare outcomes

Significant absolute differences in sedentary time and light physical activity were observed between the two devices across all age groups.

• Differences in SED were significant across both adults and children and youth
• Differences in LPA were significant across all age groups
• These findings suggest the two devices are not interchangeable for SED and LPA estimates
• Comparisons of SED and LPA between CHMS cycles 1–6 (Actical) and Cycle 7 onward (ActiGraph) are not recommended

Agreement for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was good to excellent across most age groups.

• MVPA showed the strongest agreement between the two devices compared to other PA intensity categories
• Good to excellent agreement was observed across most age groups for MVPA
• Results suggest that comparisons between CHMS cycles 1–6 and Cycle 7 onward for MVPA are acceptable but should be carried out with caution

Significant differences in step counts were observed between the two devices among children and youth, but not among adults.

• Step count agreement was good to excellent among adults
• Significant absolute differences in step counts were found among children and youth
• Comparisons of step counts between devices are not recommended based on these findings
• Sample included 36 children and youth aged 3 to 17 years

The percentage of participants meeting physical activity recommendations was higher with the ActiGraph GT3X-BT than the Actical, but the difference was not statistically significant.

• Both devices were compared for the proportion of participants meeting PA guidelines
• The ActiGraph yielded higher estimates of the percentage meeting PA recommendations
• The difference between devices was not statistically significant
• This outcome was assessed across the full sample of adults and children and youth

Similar comparisons between the two devices could be made using both the normal and low frequency extension filters on the ActiGraph device.

• Both normal and low frequency extension (LFE) filter settings on the AG were evaluated
• Results with the LFE filter were similar to those with the normal filter for cross-device comparisons
• This finding provides guidance for researchers choosing filter settings when using AG data alongside historical AC data

The Canadian Health Measures Survey transitioned from the Actical to the ActiGraph wGT3X-BT accelerometer after six cycles of data collection spanning 2007 to 2019.

• Cycles 1 to 6 of the CHMS used the Actical (AC) accelerometer
• Cycle 7 onward uses the ActiGraph wGT3X-BT (AG)
• The transition created a need to understand comparability of estimates across device types
• The study was designed to provide data users and researchers with an indication of expected differences between the devices in the context of the CHMS