Lifestyle and physical activity of the physical education professor

Abstract

The purpose of this study was: 1) to identify the physical activity habits in daily life of the professors at the Physical Education Department of UNIMONTES; 2) to verify the lifestyles of these individuals in terms of five well-being-related items (nutrition, physical activity, preventative behavior, social relationships, and stress control). Twenty Physical Education professors (5 women and 15 men), 27 to 53 years of age were evaluated. Three instruments were employed to obtain the required information: 1) PAR-Q, 2) Physical Activity Survey, and 3) Life Style Profile using the Well Being Pentagram. It was verifi ed that 74% of the males were apparently fit enough to initiate a physical exercise program. On the other hand, this number decreased to 40% in the female group. Concerning the physical activity questionnaire, 75% of the male group were active or very active, and only 40% of the female group were active. Regarding the lifestyle profi les (Well Being Pentagram), females did not report desirable healthy behavior, since their mean score was 1.4 points. In the male group, the mean score was 2.0 points, which indicates a healthy lifestyle, as well as an attitude more favorable to preventative health. We concluded that women require more attention than men, relating to the aspects mentioned above, and that men should not forget to keep on having healthy habits.