Stability and change in physical activity levels: a literature rewiew based in the concept and values of tracking

Abstract

The main purposes of this paper is to review the concepts of stability and tracking, as well as the main results from longitudinal studies focusing on physical activity. We explain the different meanings of stability: structural, normative or covariance, level or means, and ipsative. We also look at tracking issues, its different meanings and ways of computation. The main results from physical activity studies do show that, in general, stability varies from low to moderate values. These results challenge researchers from different fields of study, from epidemiologists to physical education teachers.