Physical activity and screen time in children and adolescents in a medium size town in the South of Brazil.
OBJECTIVE
To analyze the associations between sex and age with behaviour related to physical activity practice and sedentary behaviour in children and adolescents.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study with 480 (236 boys) subjects enrolled in a public school in the city of Londrina, in the south of Brazil, aged 8-17 years. Measures of physical activity, sports practice and screen times were obtained using the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare variables between boys and girls. The Chi squared test was used for categorical analysis and Poisson regression was used to identify prevalence.


RESULTS
Girls (69.6%; PR=1.05 [0.99-1.12]) spent more time with sedentary behaviour than boys (62.2%). Boys (80%; PR=0.95 [0.92-0.98]) were more physically active than girls (91%). Older students aged 13-17 showed a higher prevalence of physical inactivity (91.4%; PR=1.06 [1.02-1.10]) and time spent with sedentary behaviour of ≥2h/day (71.8%; PR=0.91 [0.85-0.97]) when compared to younger peers aged 8-12 (78.7 and 58.5%, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of physical inactivity was higher in girls. Older students spent more screen time in comparison to younger students.
Brunel University London, Uxbridge, Greater London, Inglaterra. Electronic address: joao.deaguiargreca@brunel.ac.uk.
João Paulo de Aguiar
JP
Greca
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianópolis, SC, Brasil.
Diego Augusto Santos
DA
Silva
Universidade Estadual de Londrina (UEL), Londrina, PR, Brasil.
Mathias Roberto
MR
Loch
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001938:Brazil; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D012737:Sex Factors; D013690:Television; D013997:Time Factors; D018910:Video Games
Atividades de lazer; Fatores socioeconômicos; Leisure activities; Obesidade; Obesity; Sedentarismo; Sedentary lifestyles; Socioeconomic factors; Television; Televisão