The impact of ActiGraph’s low-frequency extension filter on measurement of children’s physical activity

Patrick M. Filanowski, Emily Slade, Ronald J. Iannotti, Sarah M. Camhi, Laurie A. Milliken

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study examines differences in accelerometer-based measurements of children’s movement with and without applying ActiGraph’s low-frequency extension (LFE) filter. Thirty children wore ActiGraph GT9X devices during structured physical activity (PA) periods. Raw accelerometry data for each activity period were processed with and without the LFE filter applied. For each activity period, paired t-tests were used to compare vector magnitude counts and minutes spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) with and without the LFE filter applied. Repeated measures MANOVA models were used for compositional data analysis of the percentage of time spent in sedentary behaviour and light, moderate, and vigorous PA with and without the LFE filter applied. Applying the LFE filter significantly increased vector magnitude counts and estimated minutes spent in MVPA for all activity periods when compared to the normal filter. For brisk walking, the LFE filter had a significant impact on the composition of time spent in sedentary behaviour and PA intensities. Children’s activity data processed with the LFE filter may not be compatible with cut-points for activity levels developed with the normal filter, and caution should be taken when comparing children’s activity levels or movement data between studies that do and do not use the LFE filter.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1406-1411
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Sports Sciences
Volume40
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Keywords

  • Accelerometer
  • compositional data analysis
  • moderate-to-vigorous physical activity
  • wearable activity tracker

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
  • Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation

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