Abstract
Background: Regular exercise and proper exercise are two important measures that can control obesity reduce the chances of metabolic disease and promote a healthy life. Many a time, exercise may not be suitable for some individuals. For screening, a Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q) is used. However, it is not available in Odia, a language spoken in Odisha, India.

Aim and Objective: This study aimed to adapt the PAR-Q linguistically in Odia according to guidelines laid by the World Health Organization.

Materials and Methods: The English questionnaire was forward translated from English to Odia by three bilingual experts and a consensus was reached to make a final Odia version. Then, the Odia version was back-translated to English by three language experts and a consensus was reached to form a final back-translated version. Then, the conceptual equivalence was checked between the two versions for finalizing the Odia version. Then, the questionnaire was pre-tested and cognitive interview was conducted.

Results: We have successfully forward translated and back-translated the PAR-Q. The Odia version and back-translated English version showed an acceptable level of equivalence by two individual raters with an acceptable level of agreement. The Odia PAR-Q was successfully pre-tested.

Conclusion: We have linguistically translated the PAR-Q in Odia. This questionnaire can be used for screening individuals for their fitness for enrolling and engaging in exercise. This questionnaire would help sports authorities as well as paramedical staff in screening Odia speaking subjects who are not comfortable with English.

Key words: Exercise; India; language, Odia; Obesity; Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire; Translations