Atividade física e conhecimento sobre seus benefícios em estudantes universitários

Abstract

The objectives of this study were: a) to identify the level of physical activity (PA) of university students; and, b) analyze the knowledge of university students in relation to the health benefits of PA. The sample consisted of 233 undergraduate students (67.4 women) from the Federal University of Pampa Campus Uruguaiana / RS. Data were collected through an online instrument with questions about the level of PA, the knowledge of university students in relation to the benefits of PA for health, sociodemographic and health indicators. To assess the level of PA, the long version IPAQ was used and individuals were classified as sufficiently or insufficiently active. Of the interviewed individuals, 11 87.3% (95% CI 83.0-91.6) were classified as sufficiently active considering all PA domains, with men (p = 0.032) having a higher prevalence. In the leisure domain 13 this proportion is reduced by almost half (42.2%; 95% CI 35.9-48.5), with the subgroups of men (p = 0.002), who perform some paid activity (p = 0.041) and who declared a better perception of health (0.004) higher prevalence. In relation to the 16 knowledge about the health benefits of PA, half of the university students (49.1%; 17 95% CI 42.7-55.5) claimed that they would like to learn more and half (48.3%; 95% CI 41 , 9-18 54,7) considered knowing enough and greater knowledge was associated with the female gender (p = 0.043). In conclusion, a high prevalence of university students is sufficiently active considering all domains of PA and practically all of them know enough or would like to learn more about the knowledge regarding the health benefits of PA practice.