Do students know the physical activity recommendations for health promotion?

BACKGROUND

Knowledge is required for people to make health decisions. It can be conjectured that knowledge of physical activity recommended levels can be a step to behavior change. This study examined the knowledge of physical activity guidelines of adolescents who were completing the secondary school.

METHODS

A survey was conducted with 2718 students (1613 girls), aged 16 to 18 years (Mean = 17.2 ± 0.2 years). Gender and age were self-reported and socioeconomic status was calculated based on parental occupation. Students were asked about frequency, duration, and intensity of physical activity to achieve the recommended level. Chi-square was applied to the results.

RESULTS

16.2% reported that physical activity should be practiced daily. For the duration component of the recommendation, 43.5% identified correctly that the minimum recommended is 60 min/day. The intensity component was correctly answered by 62.7%. Considering all the components of the recommendation, only 3.6% of the students were able to identify correctly the physical activity recommendation, with no differences between genders or among socioeconomic status.

CONCLUSIONS

These results highlight the need for an effective communication strategy for disseminating the message to ensure that young people are aware of, and understand the physical activity guidelines.