artigo cientifico

REVISÃO REVIEW

Determinantes biológicos e sócio-culturais associados à prática de atividade física de adolescentes Biological and socio-cultural determinants of physical activity in adolescents

André F. Seabra 1
Denisa M. Mendonça 2
Martine A. Thomis 3
Luiz A. Anjos 4,5
José A. Maia 1

1 Faculdade de Desporto,
Universidade do Porto,
Porto, Portugal.
2 Instituto de Ciências
Biomédicas Abel Salazar,
Universidade do Porto,
Porto, Portugal.
3 Faculty of Kinesiology and
Rehabilitation Sciences,
Katholieke Universiteit
Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
4 Departamento de Nutrição
Social, Universidade Federal
Fluminense, Niterói, Brasil.
5 Escola Nacional de Saúde
Pública Sergio Arouca,
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz,
Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.

Correspondência
A. F. Seabra
Laboratório de
Cineantropometria e
Estatística Aplicada,
Faculdade de Desporto,
Universidade do Porto.
Rua Dr. Plácido Costa 91,
Porto 4200-450, Portugal. [e-mail] Abstract

Introdução

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.

A