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The Effects of a Lifestyle Modification Program on a Leisure Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in a Brazilian Low Socioeconomic Community



Author(s)

Mariana Santoro Nakagaki, Edilaine Michelin and Roberto Carlos Burini

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DOI:10.17265/2332-7839/2017.02.005

Regular physical activity benefits the health of the general population, more in those with sedentary behaviors. PURPOSE: To verify the impact of adding leisure-time activities to the existed sedentary behaviors. METHODS: A cross-sectional and a longitudinal analysis were undertaken in an ongoing epidemiological study (“Move for Health”) conducted by this Institution. The longitudinal study comprised 1572 subjects older than 35 yrs (53.8 ± 11.1 yrs, 76% women) enrolled during the period of 2004 to 2015. After a baseline assessment, the participants were submitted to a 10-week program of supervised physical exercises training and dietary counseling. The physical exercise protocol was composed by daily sessions (100 min), 3-5x/wk, including warm up/stretching (20min), 30 min walking (60%-80% VO2max), 40min strength in academy (3x 8-12 rep, 60%-70% 1RM) and stretching and cool down (10 min). By using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-way long-version 8), it was evaluated the time spent on sedentary activities during the week and on weekends (h/day), in the domains of sedentary transport (h/week) and physical leisure activities (h/week) at baseline (M0) and after 10 weeks (M1) of physical intervention. The Student’s t test was used to compare moments with a significance level of 5%. RESULTS: I was shown that 18.3% presented lower values than 150 min/wk of physical activity. Lower quartile of leisure domain on weekdays along with more sedentary behavior on weekends were determined by socioeconomic characteristics such as lower income and schooling. The sample referred low income (71% earning less than 5 minimum salary wage), low schooling (52.6% uncompleted elementary school) but in a good-excellent status of health, according their self-perception. Leisure time-physical activity increased 2.12 (P < 0.001). Behaviors of sedentary transport and sitting time either weekdays or weekends did not change significantly (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: An inexpensive and institutional-conducted lifestyle modification program like the “Move for Health” can provide extra energy expenditure, as leisure time, to a low socioeconomic community. However, it has been unsuccessfully proved to change other existing sedentary behavior. 

Sedentary behavior, leisure time, physical activity.