Abstract
This article aims to describe the reasons for sport participation in the Brazilian adult population according to gender, age and schooling level. This is a cross-sectional study with data from a National Household Sample Survey - 2015. The reasons to practice or not practice sports in the previous year were obtained by questionnaire with predetermined answer options. All analyses were performed in Stata 12.1 and stratified by gender. The prevalence of sports participation for men and women were 31.7% and 16.9%, respectively. The most frequent reasons for sports participation among men were: having fun, quality of life and performance. Among women, the most frequent reasons were: quality of life, performance and medical recommendation. Regarding reasons for not practicing sports, the most reported ones were: lack of time (38.8% for men and 37.8% for women), not enjoying (34.8% for men and 35.3% for women) and health problem (20.3% for men and 17.9% for women). The study findings showed the most frequent reasons for sport participation in Brazil. Understanding these reasons and how they affect different age ranges and educational levels may contribute to improve strategic planning to promote sports in middle-income countries.
Highlights
Physical inactivity is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide[1], with nearly one in four adults not meeting the current physical activity guidelines[2]
This article aims to describe the reasons for sport participation in the Brazilian adult population according to gender, age and schooling level
This is a cross-sectional study with data from a National Household Sample Survey – 2015
Summary
Physical inactivity is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide[1], with nearly one in four adults not meeting the current physical activity guidelines[2]. Estimates from the most recent National Health Survey, showed that 46% of Brazilian adults are physically inactive in all domains (leisure, transportation and occupational physical activity)[3]. This scenario is even worse in specific population groups such as women, elderly and people from low socioeconomic backgrounds[4]. Regarding sports participation in Brazil, estimates showed football as the most frequent practice in the country (7.2%), and other sports present irrelevant prevalence compared to walking or exercise in general[8] This may reinforce the need for a more detailed understanding of active lifestyle promotion via sports participation in the country
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