Prevalence of sedentary lifestyle among adolescents

Abstract

Objective: To identify the prevalence of sedentary lifestyle among adolescents and to know the correlation between the results obtained by two standardized measurement instruments. Methods: Descriptive, cross-sectional study, which evaluated 132 students aged between 14-18 years. Study variables were: gender, age, physical activity levels with the use of the international physical activity questionnaire in its short version, and average daily steps using the pedometer for at least 4 consecutive days. Results: The prevalence of sedentarism assessed by questionnaire was 19.7% and the prevalence identified by the pedometer was 8.3% (p=0.021). No correlation was identified between the results from instruments. The correlation between the methods was weak (k=0.021). Conclusion: The prevalence of sedentarism was lower when assessed by pedometer and there was no correlation with the results of the evaluation by questionnaire. The correlation was weak between the two measuring instruments.