Physical activity is important for health promotion and disease prevention. Effective physical activity programs for adolescents require a proper understanding of the determinants of activity levels. The main purpose of this paper was to review the scientific literature on determinants of physical activity among adolescents: demographic, biological (age, gender, socioeconomic status), and socio-cultural (family, peers, and physical education teachers). The review included only studies with large samples (> 100 subjects) and a cross-sectional design, and that used questionnaires to measure physical activity in adolescents (10-18 years). The main results and conclusions were: age is negatively associated with physical activity; boys tend to be more active than girls; higher socioeconomic status is positively associated with more physical activity; adolescents are more involved in physical activity when parents and peers also participate; physical education teachers do not influence the adolescents' level of physical activity.
CITATION STYLE
A.F., S., D.M., M., M.A., T., L.A., A., & J.A., M. (2008). Biological and socio-cultural determinants of physical activity in adolescents. Cadernos de Saude Publica. A. F. Seabra, Laboratorio de Cineantropometria e Estatistica Aplicada, Faculdade de Desporto, Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Placido Costa 91, Porto 4200-450, Portugal. E-mail: aseabra@fade.up.pt: Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz. Retrieved from http://www.scielo.br/pdf/csp/v24n4/02.pdf
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