Effects of a community-based, professionally supervised intervention on physical activity levels among residents of Recife, Brazil.
OBJECTIVE
We evaluated the effects of a community-based intervention, the Academia da Cidade program (ACP), on increasing leisure-time physical activity among residents of Recife, Brazil.


METHODS
We used the International Physical Activity Questionnaire to assess leisure-time physical activity and transport physical activity (i.e., activities involved in traveling from place to place) levels in a random sample of 2047 Recife residents surveyed in 2007. We also examined factors related to exposure to ACP (participation in the intervention, residing near an intervention site, hearing about or seeing intervention activities). We estimated prevalence odds ratios (ORs) of moderate to high leisure-time and transport physical activity levels via intervention exposures adjusted for sociodemographic, health, and environmental variables.


RESULTS
Prevalence ORs for moderate to high levels of leisure-time physical activity were higher among former (prevalence OR=2.0; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.0, 3.9) and current (prevalence OR=11.3; 95% CI=3.5, 35.9) intervention participants and those who had heard about or seen an intervention activity (prevalence OR=1.8; 95% CI=1.3, 2.5). Transport physical activity levels were inversely associated with residing near an ACP site.


CONCLUSIONS
The ACP program appears to be an effective public health strategy to increase population-level physical activity in urban developing settings.
Simoes
Eduardo J
EJ
Prevention Research Centers Program, National Centers for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy NE, MS-K45, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. esimoes@cdc.gov
Hallal
Pedro
P
Pratt
Michael
M
Ramos
Luiz
L
Munk
Marcia
M
Damascena
Wilson
W
Perez
Diana Parra
DP
Hoehner
Christine M
CM
Gilbertz
David
D
Malta
Deborah Carvalho
DC
Brownson
Ross C
RC
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D003153:Community Health Services; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007899:Leisure Activities; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D011634:Public Health; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult