Conhecimento populacional e de profissionais de Unidades Básicas de Saúde no Brasil sobre atividade e inatividade física

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the general population and health-related professionals’ knowledge on physical activity/inactivity and its associated diseases. Methods: Cross-sectional studies were carried out in (a) a representative sample of Pelotas-RS, Southern city of Brazil, assessing general population; and (b) in a national representative sample of Public Health Facilities, where physicians, nurses and health community workers were evaluated. Results: In the population-based study 1,696 adults and 399 adolescents were interviewed. Around 40% reported less than 150 minutes/week (physical activity recommendation for adults) as a minimum necessary of physical activity to provide health benefits. Among adolescents, approximately ¾ mentioned less than 300 minutes/week (physical activity recommendation for adolescents) would be enough to provide health benefits. Furthermore, those adolescents more actives reported higher values as the total amount of physical activity necessary to provide health benefits. In the Public Health Facilities study 802 workers (182 physicians, 347 nurses and 273 health community workers) were interviewed. Physicians achieved higher percentages of correct answers in terms of the association between physical inactivity and morbidities (68%), followed by nurses (54%) and health community workers (43%). 10 Conclusion: Strategies for disseminating the knowledge about physical activity and health are needed, so that the information will continue to reach the population and eventually lead to behavioral changes. This is particularly relevant for health professional, who act as role model for patients.