Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire (LTEQ)

Abstract

The Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire (LTEQ), widely designated in academic and epidemiological literature as the Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire (GLTEQ) or the Godin-Shephard Leisure-Time Physical Activity Questionnaire, is one of the most extensively utilized, brief self-report psychometric and behavioral instruments in behavioral medicine, exercise physiology, and behavioral oncology. Developed by Gaston Godin and Roy J. Shephard in 1985, the questionnaire was engineered to provide a parsimonious, reliable, and valid metric of habitual leisure-time physical activity in community, epidemiological, and clinical populations without imposing the substantial cognitive burden characteristic of comprehensive multi-page physical activity logs or 24-hour recalls.

The core instrument measures physical activity across a typical 7-day recall window using four primary indicators: three open-frequency numerical items reflecting specific operational metabolic intensity tiers (Strenuous [9 Metabolic Equivalent of Tasks (METs)], Moderate [5 METs], and Mild/Light [3 METs]) sustained for more than 15 minutes per bout during discretionary leisure time, supplemented by an ordinal, sweat-inducing physical activity frequency item evaluated across a three-point categorical response format (Often, Sometimes, Never/Rarely). Two primary scoring models exist: the total Weekly Leisure Activity Score (also termed the Leisure Score Index; LSI), which integrates all three intensity strata, and the empirically validated Health-Contribution Score (HCS), which filters out light-intensity exertion and models moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) directly against public health guidelines using established cut-off thresholds (≥24 arbitrary units denoting active; 14–23 units denoting moderately active; and <14 units indicating insufficiently active or sedentary status).

Extensive psychometric investigations over nearly four decades demonstrate robust test-retest reliability (Pearson r and intraclass correlation coefficients [ICC] typically spanning 0.62 to 0.84), moderate-to-strong convergent construct validity with objective markers including maximum oxygen consumption (VO₂max), dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) body composition metrics, and triaxial accelerometry, alongside superior discriminant validity distinguishing clinical cohorts from healthy, physically active populations.

Keywords

Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire, Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire, GLTEQ, physical activity assessment, exercise psychology, behavioral medicine, Leisure Score Index, MET equivalent scoring, psychometrics, test-retest reliability, convergent validity.

Authors

The instrument was conceptualized, operationalized, and psychometrically validated through a collaborative initiative between two prominent Canadian scholars in public health and exercise science:

• Gaston Godin, Ph.D.: Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Nursing Sciences (Faculté des sciences infirmières), Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Dr. Godin is an internationally renowned psychometrician and behavioral scientist whose theoretical inquiries have centered on social-cognitive frameworks, the Theory of Planned Behavior, and the modeling of health-risk behaviors across vulnerable, chronic disease, and community cohorts.
• Roy J. Shephard, M.D., Ph.D., D.P.E.: Professor Emeritus of Applied Physiology, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Shephard is one of the foundational figures in modern exercise physiology and preventive medicine, having authored seminal treatises on cardiorespiratory fitness, human performance, epidemiology of physical activity, and environmental physiology.

Purpose

The primary objective underlying the creation of the Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire was to resolve a persistent methodological paradox in behavioral epidemiology and clinical assessment: comprehensive physical activity questionnaires (such as seven-day physical activity recalls, occupational matrices, and detailed multi-day activity diaries) frequently suffered from high subject attrition, profound participant fatigue, administrative expense, and elevated rates of systematic misclassification due to cognitive overextension. Conversely, ultra-brief single-item global self-reports exhibited poor test-retest stability and minimal correlation with physiological indices of aerobic endurance.

Godin and Shephard (1985) sought to establish a minimalist, self-administered measurement tool capable of being completed in under two minutes, while simultaneously capturing the primary biological determinant of cardiorespiratory fitness: the frequency and intensity of discretionary, leisure-time exercise. By restricting measurement explicitly to leisure pursuits exceeding 15 minutes in duration, the instrument deliberately excludes occupational, domestic, and incidental baseline ambulation. This strategic exclusion aligns with epidemiological findings indicating that intentional, leisure-time physical activity exerts the most pronounced protective impact on cardiovascular morbidity, mental health preservation, and metabolic health relative to occupational physical strain.

In contemporary clinical and research paradigms, the LTEQ fulfills multiple targeted purposes:

• Behavioral Oncology: Serving as the gold standard self-report instrument in randomized controlled trials of exercise rehabilitation for breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer survivors, documenting adherence to targeted lifestyle interventions.
• Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease Stratification: Stratifying patient populations into epidemiologically verified activity categories associated with distinct biological risk profiles (e.g., glycosylated hemoglobin [HbA1c], systemic inflammatory cytokines, and lipid panels).
• Public Health Surveillance: Efficiently categorizing large population cohorts according to compliance with World Health Organization (WHO) and American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) physical activity guidelines.
• Psychometric and Behavioral Intervention Research: Serving as a dependent behavioral outcome variable in studies testing socio-cognitive models, motivational interviewing techniques, and mobile health (mHealth) behavioral prompts.

Psychological Construct

The central construct quantified by the LTEQ is habitual leisure-time physical activity, defined conceptually as voluntary bodily movement executed during non-working, discretionary time resulting in substantial energy expenditure over resting metabolic rates. Unlike unidimensional physical activity scales, the LTEQ conceptualizes this construct as a multi-tiered composite defined by the metabolic intensity of the exertion and its cognitive, perceptual manifestations.

1. Strenuous (Vigorous) Exercise

This dimension reflects high-intensity physical exertion demanding an energy expenditure estimated at approximately 9 METs (where 1 MET equates to the resting metabolic consumption of roughly 3.5 mL O₂·kg^-1·min^-1). Conceptually and phenomenologically, this tier is marked by near-maximal respiratory effort, significant anaerobic glycogenolysis contribution, and a heart rate elevation that renders continuous verbal conversation unfeasible. The instrument provides direct somatosensory cues to respondents, explicitly anchoring this tier to the perception that one’s “heart beats rapidly.” Exemplar activities include competitive running, jogging, soccer, squash, cross-country skiing, and vigorous swimming.

2. Moderate Exercise

The moderate dimension represents physical tasks that induce sustained cardiorespiratory activation without precipitating physiological exhaustion, mathematically modeled at 5 METs. Phenomenologically, this intensity tier encompasses movement where respiratory rate is accelerated, yet verbal articulation remains sustainable without breathlessness (the clinical “talk test”). It is anchored to the perceptual cue “not exhausting.” Exemplars embedded directly in the scale include brisk walking, recreational tennis, easy cycling, alpine skiing, badminton, and folk dancing.

3. Mild (Light) Exercise

Representing minimal physiological disruption, this dimension captures activities requiring an energy expenditure of approximately 3 METs, anchoring respondent perception to “minimal effort.” Although light physical activity promotes baseline caloric turnover and decreases sedentary time, contemporary physiological consensus demonstrates that mild exercise exerts minimal direct stimulus on maximal cardiorespiratory capacity. Activities exemplifying this stratum include casual walking, restorative yoga, bowling, archery, and horseshoes.

4. Sweat-Inducing Physical Activity Index

Item 2 measures the habitual regularity with which an individual engages in physical tasks sufficient to trigger thermal perspiration and profound tachycardia. Rather than assessing exact frequency counts, this item captures an ordinal behavioral tendency (Often, Sometimes, Never/Rarely), serving as a crucial cross-validation index for the primary numerical reports in Item 1.

Theoretical Framework

The architecture of the Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire is grounded in an interdisciplinary nexus linking exercise physiology, psychophysics, and health psychology.

1. The Psychophysical Foundations of Perceived Exertion

The structural stratification of the LTEQ into Strenuous, Moderate, and Mild tiers directly reflects the psychophysical principles pioneered by Gunnar Borg regarding the Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE). Borg established that human beings possess an innate, highly reliable capacity to integrate biological afferent signals—such as peripheral muscular strain, lactate accumulation, myocardial work, and alveolar hyperventilation—into discrete perceptual categories. By linking metabolic categories to clear somatic cues (e.g., “heart beats rapidly”, “not exhausting”, “minimal effort”), Godin and Shephard leveraged subjective psychophysical calibration to circumvent the need for complex, laboratory-based metabolic monitoring equipment in population-level studies.

2. The Theory of Planned Behavior and Cognitive Accessibility

Within the domain of cognitive and behavioral psychology, the questionnaire’s development was informed by Icek Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior. Intentional, effortful behaviors—such as vigorous sporting activities or structured fitness sessions—are cognitively planned and scheduled within an individual’s weekly routine. Consequently, episodes of strenuous exercise are encoded in episodic memory with high autobiographical salience. Because these distinct episodes possess elevated cognitive retrieval availability, participants can accurately recall the precise weekly count of strenuous sessions exceeding 15 minutes, significantly attenuating the recall bias and memory decay typically observed with incidental, low-intensity daily habits.

3. Bioenergetic Weighting Models

The conceptual framework underpinning the scoring algorithm rests upon classical bioenergetics. Drawing from empirical exercise physiology work by Donald A. Bailey and Roy J. Shephard, the weighting coefficients assigned to the weekly frequencies (9 for Strenuous, 5 for Moderate, and 3 for Mild) correspond closely to the estimated metabolic multipliers over resting energy expenditure. Thus, the derived Leisure Score Index functions as an unstandardized estimate of volume-weighted physical activity energy turnover directly attributable to discretionary behavioral choices.

Validity

The LTEQ has undergone comprehensive, international psychometric validation across healthy community participants, elderly demographics, pediatric samples, and clinical cohorts living with cancer, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

1. Criterion and Convergent Validity

In their seminal validation study, Godin and Shephard (1985) administered the scale to 306 healthy adults (143 men, 163 women) and contrasted self-reported leisure scores against objective biological criteria of physical capacity. Statistically significant positive correlations were established between the Leisure Score Index and laboratory-determined maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂max; r = 0.24 to 0.38, p < 0.001), measured during incremental maximal cycle ergometry. Concurrently, inverse correlations emerged between the scale score and percentage body fat assessed via four standard skinfold thicknesses (r = -0.21 in men, -0.13 in women, p < 0.05), as well as significant positive associations with muscular endurance (push-up capacity: r = 0.34, p < 0.001).

Subsequent validation studies evaluating convergent validity using modern accelerometry have documented modest-to-strong correlations. Jacobs et al. (1993), in a comprehensive comparative trial of ten physical activity questionnaires, demonstrated that the LTEQ exhibited one of the highest convergent correlations with average daily accelerometer counts (r = 0.32 to 0.45) and recorded motion sensors across multiple monitoring days, while exhibiting far lower administrative burden than the 7-day Physical Activity Recall (PAR).

2. The Health-Contribution Score (HCS) Validation

Amireault and Godin (2015) conducted an extensive validation study of 296 healthy adults using triaxial accelerometers across seven consecutive days to examine whether the traditional Leisure Score Index (incorporating mild exercise) or the revised Health-Contribution Score (HCS; summing only moderate and strenuous exercise: [9 × Strenuous] + [5 × Moderate]) provided superior construct validity. Their findings demonstrated that the HCS cutoff of ≥24 units correctly classified 75.3% of individuals meeting the international aerobic guidelines (≥150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week). Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC) analyses demonstrated strong diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.76–0.86), confirming that the HCS serves as a valid classification threshold for epidemiological and behavioral intervention trials.

3. Discriminant and Known-Groups Validity

The LTEQ shows exceptional discriminant validity across known cohorts. It effectively distinguishes between individuals enrolled in cardiac rehabilitation programs who successfully meet functional capacity standards versus non-compliant dropouts. In oncology trials spearheaded by Kerry S. Courneya and colleagues, the scale reliably delineated differences in functional quality of life, physical fatigue scales, and circulating biomarkers (such as insulin-like growth factor-1 [IGF-1] and C-reactive protein) among cancer patients stratified by the ≥24 unit threshold.

Reliability

Psychometric evaluations across multiple decades have established the temporal stability and measurement precision of the LTEQ across distinct time intervals and target populations.

1. Test-Retest Reliability

In the original validation paper, Godin and Shephard (1985) assessed test-retest reliability across a two-week interval in a subsample of 53 adults. Stability coefficients (Pearson r) across the sub-dimensions were recorded as follows:

• Strenuous Exercise: r = 0.94
• Moderate Exercise: r = 0.46
• Mild Exercise: r = 0.48
• Total Leisure Score Index (LSI): r = 0.74
• Sweat Item (Item 2): Spearman ρ = 0.80; percent concordance = 72%

The markedly superior temporal stability of the Strenuous exercise dimension (r = 0.94) reinforces the psychometric principle that high-intensity, structured bouts of physical exertion are stored with greater cognitive salience and retrieval fidelity than lower-intensity, fluid daily activities.

2. Intraclass Correlation Coefficients and Concordance

In a rigorous evaluation by Sallis et al. (1993), the LTEQ demonstrated a two-week intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.81 for the total index. In chronic clinical populations, such as individuals with multiple sclerosis, Motl et al. (2006) established an ICC of 0.77 (95% CI: 0.68–0.84) over an eight-day retest window, verifying that the scale’s stability is preserved in individuals experiencing daily physical disability and fatigue fluctuations. Furthermore, weighted Cohen’s kappa (κ) coefficients for the categorization of participants into active versus inactive categories typically exceed 0.65, demonstrating substantial temporal diagnostic concordance.

Factor Analysis

Although the LTEQ was originally constructed based on biological energy expenditure matrices rather than latent psychological trait models, modern structural psychometric investigations have examined its empirical factorial architecture.

1. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA)

Factor analytic models examining the three core items of Question 1 consistently demonstrate that a single unifactorial solution does not provide an adequate representation of leisure activity data. When submitted to principal axis factoring with oblique rotation, physical activity data routinely yield a two-factor structure:

• Factor 1: Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity (MVPA). Strenuous exercise (loadings typically exceeding 0.78) and Moderate exercise (loadings spanning 0.52 to 0.68) load heavily on this primary latent dimension, which directly captures structured, cardiorespiratory-enhancing exertion.
• Factor 2: Light Leisure Engagement. Mild exercise loads independently onto a distinct factor (loadings typically >0.85), exhibiting near-zero cross-loadings with the strenuous tier. This factorial divergence explains why traditional internal consistency metrics, such as Cronbach’s alpha, are statistically inappropriate for the composite three-item scale; the items do not reflect a single continuous latent trait, but rather distinct behavioral choices competing for the same finite leisure time.

2. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Model Fit

Confirmatory factor analytic investigations by Amireault et al. (2015) evaluated the structural relationship between self-reported GLTEQ dimensions and objective accelerometer-derived intensity strata. Structural equation models specifying a two-factor latent structure (Factor 1: Strenuous + Moderate; Factor 2: Mild) exhibited exceptional goodness-of-fit across adult samples:

• Comparative Fit Index (CFI) > 0.96
• Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) > 0.94
• Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) ≤ 0.048 (90% CI: 0.021–0.068)
• Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) ≤ 0.035

These findings substantiate the empirical decision to disaggregate Mild exercise when computing the modern Health-Contribution Score, as inclusion of the light exercise item degrades model fit and weakens diagnostic concordance with biological criterion measures.

Instrument / Measurement Tool

The LTEQ is structured as follows:

• Test Type: Self-administered or interviewer-administered behavioral recall questionnaire.
• Target Population: Adolescents and adults (ages 12 to 85+), including healthy community cohorts, elderly populations, and clinical medical populations (e.g., oncology, cardiology, neurology, orthopedics).
• Administration Time: Approximately 1 to 2 minutes.
• Recall Period: A typical 7-day period (one week).
• Item Count: 4 items (Question 1 contains 3 open-frequency intensity tiers; Question 2 contains 1 categorical ordinal sweat item).
• Response Format:
  • Question 1: Open frequency response (number of times per week for more than 15 minutes).
  • Question 2: 3-point categorical scale (1 = Often, 2 = Sometimes, 3 = Never/Rarely).
• Scoring Protocols:
  • Total Weekly Leisure Activity Score (Leisure Score Index – LSI):
    $$\text{Total LSI} = (9 \times \text{Strenuous}) + (5 \times \text{Moderate}) + (3 \times \text{Mild})$$
  • Health-Contribution Score (HCS; Godin, 2011; Amireault & Godin, 2015):
    $$\text{HCS} = (9 \times \text{Strenuous}) + (5 \times \text{Moderate})$$
  • Classification Thresholds for HCS:
    • ≥ 24 units: Active (substantial health benefits; conforms to international physical activity public health recommendations).
    • 14 to 23 units: Moderately Active (some health benefits; partial compliance).
    • < 14 units: Insufficiently Active / Sedentary (minimal to no cardiorespiratory health benefits).
  • Sweat Index (Item 2): Used as a supplementary ordinal metric to verify habitual engagement in vigorous, sweat-producing physical activity.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire was originally published in 1985 in the Canadian Journal of Applied Sport Sciences, with comprehensive operational updates published in 1997, 2011, and 2015. The instrument resides in the public domain for non-commercial, clinical, educational, and academic research purposes. No licensing fees or royalty permissions are mandated by the original authors or copyright holders for academic study use, provided that standard academic citation and attribution are formally acknowledged in resulting publications.

References

• Amireault, S., & Godin, G. (2015). The Godin-Shephard leisure-time physical activity questionnaire: Validity evidence supporting its use for classifying healthy adults into active and insufficiently active categories. Perceptual and Motor Skills: Physical Development & Measurement, 120(2), 604–622. https://doi.org/10.2466/03.27.PMS.120v19x7
• Courneya, K. S., Jones, L. W., Rhodes, R. E., & Blanchard, C. M. (2001). Effects of different exercise promotion strategies on exercise behavior in cancer survivors: An application of the theory of planned behavior. Health Psychology, 20(2), 105–112. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6133.20.2.105
• Godin, G. (2011). The Godin-Shephard leisure-time physical activity questionnaire. Health & Fitness Journal of Canada, 4(1), 18–22. https://doi.org/10.14288/hfjc.v4i1.82
• Godin, G., & Shephard, R. J. (1985). A simple method to assess exercise behavior in the community. Canadian Journal of Applied Sport Sciences, 10(3), 141–146.
• Godin, G., & Shephard, R. J. (1997). Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 29(6 Suppl), S36–S38. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005768-199706001-00009
• Jacobs, D. R., Ainsworth, B. E., Hartman, T. J., & Leon, A. S. (1993). A simultaneous evaluation of 10 commonly used physical activity questionnaires. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 25(1), 81–91. https://doi.org/10.1249/00005768-199301000-00012
• Motl, R. W., McAuley, E., & Snook, E. M. (2006). Reliability and convergent validity of the Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire in people with multiple sclerosis. Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy, 30(4), 184–188. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.npt.0000281258.45567.be
• Sallis, J. F., Buono, M. J., Roby, J. J., Micale, F. G., & Nelson, J. A. (1993). Seven-day recall and other physical activity self-reports in children and adolescents. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 25(1), 99–108. https://doi.org/10.1249/00005768-199301000-00014

13. Items of the Scale (Questionnaire)