Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Nível de atividade física de mulheres residentes numa região de baixa condição socioeconômica do município de São Paulo-SP

2011; Volume: 1; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

2237-3756

Natália Cristina de Oliveira, Clarice Maria de Oliveira Silva, Aisamar Carvalho Elias Pereira, Keliane Galdino da Silva, Mariane de Moraes Lima, Rockelly Kathryn Maciel Miranda, Alexandre G. Patriota, Leslie Andrews Portes,

Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet

Objective: To assess the physical activity level of a group of womenresiding in a region of low socioeconomic status, and to relate this variableto time of scholarization, self perception of health, age and daily workinghours. Methods: Sixty adult and elderly women (mean age 51.3 ± 11.0 yearsold) assisted by primary health units of the district of Capao Redondo (SaoPaulo - SP) were designated to take part in an exercise program and invited torespond to a questionnaire about physical activity level. Results: Most subjects(73.4%) evaluated their health as good, very good or excellent. Ninety-sixpercent of the subjects presented sufficient levels of physical activity, but only48.3% used to practice intense activities. Only time of scholarization had apositive effect on the practice of intense activities (p = 0.02). This type ofactivity was 3.89 times more likely to occur in subjects with 8 or more yearsof study. Most subjects presented a good self-report of health, however, theones who evaluated their health as bad or regular showed a tendency not topractice intense physical activity. Conclusion: Our sample was considered tobe physically active, and time of scholarization had a positive influence on thepractice of intense physical activity. Our results differ from previous studiesregarding the percent of active