Counseling on physical activity before and during the Covid-19 pandemic among users of the Brazilian community health promotion program

Abstract

The aim is to investigate the association between physical activity counseling before and during the Covid-19 pandemic and sociodemographic variables, according to body mass index (BMI) and participation time in the program. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 979 users aged 20 years or older. Before the pandemic, being ≥60 years of age was associated with counseling in users with up to one year of participation in the program. During the pandemic, being ≥60 years of age and having higher education were aspects associated with counseling among participants with normal weight. Furthermore, being separated/widowed among those classified as overweight/obesity, and being female and having higher education among those with up to one year in the program were aspects associated with counseling during the pandemic. Before the pandemic, counseling was associated with age ≥60 years in participants with up to one year in the program. During the pandemic, age ≥60 years and a higher number of years of education were associated with physical activity counseling among those with normal weight. Additionally, being separated/widowed was associated with overweight/obesity. During the pandemic, being female and higher educational attainment were associated with physical activity counseling.