Prevalence of Physical Activity Level in Public Schools, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

PURPOSE: To examine the prevalence of the physical activity level in the public school network in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. METHODS: A cross-sectional school based study was performed in the state of São Paulo. Selection of sample was done in multiple stages: a) random selection of municipalities; b) randomly selected schools; c) selection of students in the 5th and 8th grades - elementary school, and 3rd grade - high school. Data collection was performed in 2008, to measure the level of physical activity the short version International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used, and as cut-off point for classification of active students >300 minutes of Physical activity per week. Statistical Analysis: Analysis adjusted for possible confounding factors were performed by Poisson regression. The variables with p<0.20 were kept in the final model of analysis; all analysis were pondered by each municipality representativeness. RESULTS: The final study sample comprised 2,555 schools, with female predominance (56.1%). The prevalence of active students (≥ 300 minutes) in the state was 71.7 (CI95% 70.0 to 73.4). The men were 9% more active than women. Regarding the grades, the students in high school 3rd year compared to students in elementary school 5th grade had a prevalence ratio of 1.20 (CI95% 1.12 - 1.29).TableCONCLUSION: The level of physical activity of students in the state of Sao Paulo was relatively high and associated with male gender, advanced age and school grade.