Self-reports provide rich information about the types of activities people engage in. Reviewing current activity measures two issues become evident. Firstly, they were developed and validated in healthy populations. Secondly, they are diverse in their applications and measured domains. Thus, to assess the construct of activity fully large numbers of measures need to be used.

The study aimed to explore different dimensions of activity (e.g. work, physical, mental, leisure, sedentary behaviours) using a new scale assessing multiple domains of daily activities.

A new activity scale was used to investigate the types of activity and inactivity in people with chronic illness (asthma, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)) and in a healthy group. The types of activities measured included; leisure and sport, home and outside, social activity, work and education, and mental activity. The scale also aimed to measure the construct of inactivity, represented by sedentary behaviours, such as staying in bed during the day.

The results showed a pattern of significant correlations between the new activity scale, specifically its two major domains of activity and inactivity, and other measures of functioning and activity in the illness groups, but not in the healthy group.

The lack of significant associations between the new activity scale and other measures of activity and functioning within the healthy group indicated the measure may be more suitable for assessing activity in people with chronic illness than in healthy people. Additionally, the results underscore the importance of measuring inactivity as a separate domain.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.