Factors associated to leisure-time sedentary lifestyle in adults of 1982 birth cohort, Pelotas, Southern Brazil

OBJECTIVE: To assess factors associated to leisure-time physical activity and sedentary lifestyle. METHODS: Prospective cohort study of people born in 1982 in the city of Pelotas, southern Brazil. Data were collected at birth and during in a visit in 2004-5 when 77.4% of the cohort were evaluated, making a total of 4,297 people studied. Information about leisure-time physical activity was collected using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Sedentary people were defined as those with weekly physical activity below 150 minutes. The following independent variables were studied: gender, skin color, birth weight, family income at birth and income change between birth and 23 years of age. Poisson's regression with robust adjustment of variance was used for the assessment of risk factors of sedentary lifestyle. RESULTS: Men reported 334 min of weekly leisure-time physical activity compared to 112 min among women. The prevalence of sedentary lifestyle was 80.6% in women and 49.2% in men. Scores of physical activity increased as income at birth increased. Those who were currently poor or who became poor during adult life were more sedentary. CONCLUSIONS: Leisure-time sedentary lifestyle in young adults was high especially among women. Physical activity during leisure time is determined by current socioeconomic conditions.