Abstract

GORDIA, Alex Pinheiro; QUADROS, Teresa Maria Bianchini de; CAMPOS, Wagner de  and  PETROSKI, Édio Luis. Physical activity Level in adolescents and its association with sociodemographic variables. Rev. Port. Cien. Desp. [online]. 2010, vol.10, n.1, pp.172-179. ISSN 1645-0523.

This study aimed to evaluate PAL in adolescents and to investigate its association with sociodemographic variables. A total of 608 adolescents (14-20 years), of both sexes, of the high school from Lapa, Paraná, Brazil participated in the study. Their PAL was estimated using the IPAQ, and their socioeconomic status was assessed according to the Brazilian Economic Classification Criteria. Initially, a descriptive analysis was carried out, followed by the Chi-square test, Student’s t test and one-way ANOVA to analyze differences and Logistic Regression to examine associations. The PAL of these adolescents was high (76.8%) or moderate (20.9%) and just 2.3% had a low PAL, with mean energy expenditure of 7039±5602 MET-minute/week. The girls had a 1.6 times greater chance of exhibiting a low PAL when compared with the boys. Adolescents who attended school during the morning had 2.2 times greater chance of having a low PAL than those who attending in the evenings. Health promotion programs encouraging the regular practice of physical activity should take account of sex and whether the students study in the mornings or evenings as being key variables to changing the PAL of adolescents.

Keywords : lifestyle; physical activity; sociodemographic factors; adolescents.

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