Validity and reliability of a Cantonese-translated rating of perceived exertion scale among Hong Kong adults

This study assessed the validity and reliability of the Cantonese-translated version of the Borg 6-20 Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale during continuous incremental cycle ergometry by Hong Kong adults. A total of 54 participants (25 males and 29 females), ages 22.2 ± 4.7 yr., volunteered to participate. They performed two trials of identical continuous incremental cycling exercise 1 wk. apart for the reliability test. The objective measures of exercise intensity (heart rate, power out-put, and oxygen consumption) and the subjective measure of effort (RPE) were obtained during the incremental exercise. Significant (p<.01) Pearson correlations were found when RPE values were correlated with heart rate (rs ≥.73), power output (rs ≥.69), and oxygen consumption (rs ≥.68). The overall test-retest intraclass correlation (R =.92) indicated that the scale was reliable. In conclusion, this Cantonese scale for rating of perceived exertion appears to be a valid and reliable psychophysiological tool to measure perceptions of exertion during controlled cycle ergometer exercise by Hong Kong adults.