Leisure-time physical activity and associated factors among adolescents of Pernambuco, Brazil: From 2006 to 2011

Abstract

Leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) has important implications in promoting physical activity among young people. The present study aimed to analyze variations occurred in the 2006-2011 period in LTPA and associated factors among high school boys and girls in the state of Pernambuco, Northeastern Brazil. A cross-sectional schoolbased and statewide survey was conducted in 2006 (n = 4,207) and 2011 (n = 6,264), and samples of adolescents (14-19 years) were compared. Data were collected through a questionnaire. The practice of LTPA was obtained by the question “Do you perform regularly, some kind of physical activity in your free time?” Poisson regression was used (confidence interval (CI) 95%) in crude and adjusted analyses stratified by gender. From 2006 to 2011, there was stability in the proportion of adolescents practicing LTPA both among boys (77.5% versus 78.9%) and girls (51.2%, versus 54.0%). The weekly frequency of physical education classes was directly associated with LTPA both in girls and boys, regardless of the survey year. Age, marital status, grade and computer use were significantly associated with LTPA, but there were distinctions between genders and surveys. In conclusion, there was a temporal variation between 2006 and 2011, but the reduction or increment in LTPA practice varied according to stratification of subgroups of adolescents. In general, physical education class was a factor that remained associated with LTPA in the investigated period.