Physical activity advice: short report from a population-based study in Brazil.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the prevalence of physical activity advice, the source of the information, and the types of recommendation in a population-based sample of adults living in South Brazil.


METHODS
Population-based study including 972 adults living in Pelotas, Brazil. The outcome variable was based on the following question: "Has anyone ever recommended you to practice physical activity"? If the answer was positive, we asked who was responsible for the prescription (an open question, which was categorized later) and which recommendation was done.


RESULTS
The prevalence of physical activity advice was 56.2% (95% CI 52.3-60.1). Physical activity advice was mostly done by physicians (92.5%). Walking was, by far, the most frequent recommendation. Females were more likely to receive advice for physical activity practice than males (OR 1.74; 95% CI 1.30-2.31). Age, economic level, body mass index and leisure-time physical activity were positively associated with physical activity advice, while self-reported health presented an inverse association with the outcome.


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of physical activity advice was high in this sample, suggesting that the Brazilian health system is incorporating physical activity in its routine.
Hallal
Pedro C
PC
Post-graduate program in Epidemiology, Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil.
Machado
Pitágoras T
PT
Del Duca
Giovâni F
GF
Silva
Inácio C
IC
Amorim
Tales C
TC
Borges
Thiago T
TT
Rombaldi
Airton J
AJ
Azevedo
Mario R
MR
Knuth
Alan G
AG
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001938:Brazil; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D037001:Directive Counseling; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D007899:Leisure Activities; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016138:Walking; D055815:Young Adult