Level of physical activity and associated factors in a public university

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the level of physical activity and associated factors of the academic community of a Brazilian federal higher education institution. Overall, 483 students, 49 teachers and 153 administrative technicians of both genders participated in this stdy. Sociodemographic questionnaire, BMI evaluation and classification of the level of physical activity (IPAQ) were used. Statistical analysis was performed by the Pearson Chi-square test to observe possible associations between independent variables and LPA and Poisson regression analysis with 95% confidence intervals through the SPSS software version 22.0. Among the 61.8% of individuals classified as physically active, 48.90% belonged to the health area and 52.40% had Graduation / Specialization level. Of these, 45.7% showed normal BMI and 62.2% of them did not practice exercises before being admitted to the extension project. Teachers and administrative technicians were, respectively, 3.62 (95% CI = 1.11-11.82) and 2.15 (95% CI = 1.03-4.66) times more likely of having sedentary behavior when compared to the group of students. LPA was higher in undergraduate students, while teachers and technicians were more likely of being sedentary. The majority of participants had normal BMI and the largest portion of physically active individuals was composed of students of the health area. Thus, it is necessary to encourage interventions for the practice of physical activity within the academic community, as well as the implementation of internal policies to mobilize individuals to improve the worrying situation of sedentary behavior.

Physical Activity Level and Eating Habits of University Professors in a Private Educational Institution

“…By sex, the male presented a higher prevalence of overweight (83.7%) in relation to the female (57.7%) (p=0.005) (Figure 1). High prevalence of overweight among university professors has been pointed out by different authors, including Mónica et al 15 , Dias et al 21 and Leal et al 22 .. In the present study overweight was observed in more than 70% of the sample, even higher in the male group, exceeding the prevalence of 83%.…”

“…Several authors also highlighted insufficiently active behavior in the university environment, including professors. As examples of national studies, we can cite Oliveira Filho et al 24 , Wilches-Luna 25 , Dias et al 21 , Pinotti et al 23 , Dumith 26 e Petroski e Oliveira 27 in universities in Southern Brazil, besides Leal et al 22 in the Northeast and Lira et al 28 and Neves et al 8 in the West Center. International studies also point to the same trend, including that of Monica et al 15 and Neeraj and Ahluwalia 29 , both in Indian professors.…”