Fatores sociodemográfi cos associados a prática de exercício físico, uso do computador, assistir à TV e jogar videogame entre adolescentes

Sociodemographic factors associated to physical exercise, computer use, watching TV and playing video games among teenagers

Abstract

Objective: Evaluate the sociodemographic factors associated to the practice of physical exercise and computer use, watch
TV and play video games among teenagers. Methods: Cross-sectional study with 100 students from a private school and
100 from a public school in São Luís-MA. A survey about socialdemographic data was conducted, and the teenagers were
asked about their frequency of physical exercise and the time they spent watching television, playing videogames and using
the computer. The association analysis was made by chi-square test/Fischer's exact test, Stata 10.0 software. The level of
signifi cance adopted was 5%. Results: The teenagers were mainly female (55%), and the average age was 16 years. The
frequency of physical exercise was inadequate for 57.5% of them and there was an association between the female sex
(p<0.001), aged 17 (p=0.045), family income <5 minimal wages(p=0.022) and going to a public school (p=0.015). The
habit of watching television for ≥2hours/day was present in 67% of the teenagers, and there was an association between
family income between 2 and 5 minimal wages (p=0.027) and going to a public school (p=0.007). Playing videogames
for ≥2hours/day was more frequent for boys (p<0.001) and students from public school (p=0.002). The use of computer
for ≥2hours/day was reported by 61.0% of the group and was only associated to students from public school (p=0.042).
Conclusion: The results reinforce the need of incentive to the practice of physical exercise and discouragement of less
active exercises during leisure time, especially for those with lower sociodemographic level.