The Archer-Garcia Ratio: A Brief Measure to Predict Exercise Behavior

Thiago Medeiros da Costa Daniele1, 2, Ali Al Nima2, 3, Trevor Archer1, 2, Danilo Garcia1-5*
1
Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
2
Network for Empowerment and Well-Being, Sweden
3
Blekinge Centre of Competence, Blekinge County Council, Karlskrona, Sweden
4
Anthropedia Foundation, Washington, Missouri, USA
5
Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Centre for Ethics, Law and Mental Health (CELAM), University of
Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

Abstract
The Archer-Garcia Ratio was constructed as a brief self-report measure of exercise behavior.
In the present study the Archer-Garcia Ratio predicted how often individuals had trained for
the past six months, measured electronically, even when compared to larger, strong, and
validated scales of exercise behavior.
Supporting summary
Background: Different forms of conscious and planned physical exercise and activity that
individuals perform improve not only physical but also psychological health and well-being,
as well as physical and intellectual performance. Nevertheless, there is a lack of short and
valid self-rated measures of physical activity that are easy to administer. Here we put forward
and test the validity of the Archer-Garcia Ratio which is constructed by participants
responses to two questions.
Method: The participants (N = 158) were recruited a training facility in the south of Sweden.
The Archer-Garcia Ratio was constructed by standardizing (i.e., z-scores) and then
summarizing individuals responses to two questions about exercise habits with regard to
frequency (How often do you exercise?; 1 = never, 5 = 5 times/week or more) and intensity
(Estimate the level of effort when you exercise; 1 = none or very low, 10 = Very High).
Participants responded also to the Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire and allowed
the research team to collect electronic data from the training facility that indicated the
number of times they had trained for the past six months.
Results: A principal components analysis, with oblimin rotation, suggested that a single
primary factor accounted for at least 70.94% of the variance, thus supporting the calculation
of The Archer-Garcia Ratio by standardizing the two questions. Moreover, the Archer-Garcia
Ratio predicted how often individuals had trained for the past six months, measured
electronically, even when compared to larger, strong, and validated scales of exercise
behavior.
Conclusion: The Archer-Garcia Ratio is a brief and valid self-report measure that can be used
to predict actual retrospective exercise behavior.
Keywords: Archer-Garcia Ratio; Exercise; Longitudinal; Training Frequency; Training
Intensity.

*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to D. Garcia, Network for Empowerment and Well-Being,
Axel W. Anderssons Vg 8A, SE 371 62, Lyckeby, Sweden. E-mail: danilo.garcia@icloud.com.