Leisure-time physical inactivity among healthcare workers

Abstract

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of leisure-time physical inactivity (LTPI) and associated factors among healthcare workers. Material and Methods: The cross-sectional study carried out with 2684 healthcare workers from 4 municipalities from the northeast region, Brazil. The LTPI was assessed by dichotomous question. The association between LTPI and the various independent variables was examined through the multinomial logistic regression analysis (crude and adjusted). Results: The prevalence of LTPI was 47.9% (95% confidence interval (CI): 46.01–48.80). The adjusted analysis (sociodemographic and occupational characteristics) showed that women and individuals with higher levels of education were more LTPI (p = 0.05). Conclusions: The prevalence of LTPI was high among the population investigated, especially among women and individuals with higher education. These results show the importance of developing actions to encourage adherence to physical activity during leisure time among workers, especially among the most vulnerable groups (people with higher education and women), given the benefits of this behavior to health.