Prevalence and factors associated with leisure-time physical activity: survey repeated in university students

• Autor(a) principal: Santos, Sueyla Ferreira Da Silva Dos
• Data de Publicação: 2016
• Outros Autores: Freitas, Ismael Forte [UNESP], Alvarenga, Ana Maria, Fonseca, Silvio Aparecido, Virtuoso, Jair Sindra, Sousa, Thiago Ferreira De
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UNESP
• Texto Completo: http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/1980-0037.2016v18n5p577; http://hdl.handle.net/11449/212060
• topic: Cross-sectional studies; Longitudinal studies; Recreational activities; Students; Atividades de lazer; Estudantes; Estudos longitudinais; Estudos transversais

The practice of leisure physical activity represents a behavior that must be monitored in different population groups. The objectives of this study were i) to compare the prevalence of leisure-time physical activity in university students along the survey years in three separate years; ii) to analyze the factors associated with practice of leisure-time physical activity in each survey. Three surveys in a college institution in northeastern Brazil in 2010, 2012 and 2014 were carried out. The dependent variable was practice of leisure-time physical activity. Exploratory variables were sociodemographic factors and link with the university. The prevalence was compared using the chi-square test for linear trend and association for Prevalence Ratio. Participation was of 1,084, 1,085 and 1,041 college students in 2010, 2012 and 2014, respectively. The prevalence of leisure-time physical activity was approximately 50% in the three surveys. Women were less active in leisure time on the three surveys. In each survey, associations were different in relation the courses, and Chemistry – teacher training, Computer Science, Pedagogy – teacher training and Linguistics (no specialization) students showed lower levels of leisure-time physical activity and Biomedicine, Geography – Bachelor, Physical Education – teacher training and Geography – teacher training students were more active in leisure time. It was concluded that there was a stabilization of the prevalence of active leisure over time and that women showed lower prevalence of leisure-time physical activity in the three surveys.