Adolescents’ knowledge about the benefits of physical exercises to mental health

Abstract

Adolescence is a phase of several structural and functional transformations. Physical exercise is capable of inducing adaptive plasticity on the nervous system, reducing the risks of future psychiatric pathologies. This research aimed to investigate adolescents’ knowledge about the benefits of physical exercise on mental health. This is a cross-sectional study, carried out in a state school from a city in the Midwestern region of Minas Gerais. Data collection included a self-developed questionnaire to measure knowledge about the benefits of Physical Exercise on Mental Health, an International Physical Activity Questionnaire and a socioeconomic questionnaire from the Brazilian Association of Research Companies. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics tools, Kruskal-Wallis and chi-square tests, with a significance level of 5%. We found that individuals that are more active had greater knowledge about the benefits of physical exercise to mental health in relation to sedentary individuals. Thus, knowledge can be a protective factor against sedentarism and physical inactivity, significantly improving the aspects related to the quality of life of the adolescent.