Nível de atividade física dos servidores da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria

Abstract

PURPOSE: To determine the physical activity level of the civil servants of Federal University of Santa Maria, according to gender, age and functional category.

METHODS: Descriptive study with stratified aleatory sampling and a 5% error range. 3280 civil servants composed the population, and a representative sample was obtained with 307 men and 317 women divided into Superior Teaching Centers, Rectory and University Hospital. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire, 8th version and long form was applied, self administered, classifying the civil servants into Very Active, Active, Irregularly Active “a”, Irregularly Active “b” and Sedentary. Descriptive Statistics, confidence interval and q-square were used for the association measures, adopting a significance level of 5%.

RESULTS: The mean age of the sample was of 43 years and 2 months with a standard deviation of 8 years and 2 months. It was determined that 80.9 to 86.7% of the servants (very active and active) attained physical activity recommendations. Irregularly Active “a” and “b” servants put together, represented 9.4 to 14.4% and sedentary level represented 2.83 to 5.83% of the sample. The proportion of women that attained minimal physical activity recommendations was significantly greater than men’s. Referent to age and functional category, there was no statistically significant difference. CONCLUSIONS: The high proportion of active and very active servants reflects the awareness of the importance of an active lifestyle for the health of this population, probably due to the university atmosphere with an easier access to culture and information.