Only 1/4 of Brazilians do the recommended minimum exercise – 08/11/2023 – Health

A survey noted that only 26% of Brazilians follow the WHO (World Health Organization) recommendation to dedicate at least 150 minutes a week to physical activity during their free time. On the other hand, the share of those who do not practice any exercise for leisure is almost 60%.

The data were compiled in an article published this Friday (11) in the Brazilian journal Epidemiology and Health Services. The study is based on information collected by the PNS (National Health Survey), a representative survey of the Brazilian population whose latest edition dates from 2019.

In the study, data from 88,000 participants in the national survey were considered – those under 18 who participated in the PNS were excluded from the analysis of the article. The researchers paid attention to two factors: the regularity of physical activities in their free time and the sedentary period of the respondents.

“We took the WHO recommendation for physical activity as a reference, that is, at least 150 minutes per week of some physical activity”, explains Arão Oliveira, a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Clinical and Epidemiological Research at the University Hospital of USP and one of the article authors.

In the physical activity factor, the participants were divided into three categories depending on the practiced rhythm of aerobic physical activity, such as walking, running and soccer.

The first group was inactive: those who did not exercise at all in their spare time. The second stratification, called insufficiently active, was composed of those who exercised, but without reaching the WHO recommended level. Finally, there are the assets, which follow the minimum recommended by the organization.

With the analyzes made based on the PNS, it was observed that about 60% of the research participants fit into the inactive category. Meanwhile, 26% were active and 14% were insufficiently active.

For Oliveira, the data represents a warning for the health of the Brazilian population. “Many chronic diseases and early mortality could be prevented if people adhered to WHO recommendations.”

Studies have already shown that a physically active routine reduces the risk of cardiovascular problems, prevents the appearance of some types of cancer and blocks the development of type 2 diabetes, to name just a few benefits of a physically active routine.

Other exercises that are also important for human health are muscle strengthening. Stretching, pilates and bodybuilding are some examples of this modality. According to the WHO, this group of practices complements the advantages obtained with aerobic exercises.

The recently published research also observed the adherence of Brazilians to these activities, and the data were even more worrying. Only 8% of respondents followed the recommendation to practice these muscle-strengthening activities at least twice a week. Among the elderly, the percentage was even lower: 4%. It’s as if only 1 to 30 older Brazilians practiced these exercises.

Oliveira explains that strengthening muscles can be especially important in this age group, as it prevents falls, weakness and loss of muscle mass, factors that make it difficult for this public to move around.

Regarding sedentary time, participants were stratified into four categories, considering the time spent with electronic devices. Around 38% stated that they used these devices from 0 to 4 hours a day, while 30% mentioned using them between 4 and 6 hours. Another 19% dedicated 6 to 8 hours of their daily time with these devices, and 10% more than 8 hours.

Oliveira states that, initially, the more time someone uses their free time for sedentary purposes, the greater the chance of the person not being physically active. But it can also happen that the individual works with a function that demands physical effort. In this case, she would be doing physical activity, but not in her free time – something that the study did not measure, since the focus was on observing what the participants reported doing during their leisure time.

Another point of the survey is that it is based on data from the 2019 PNS. The researcher states that this is the most recent information representative of the Brazilian population, in addition to being reiterated by other databases.

One example is Covitel (Telephone Survey of Risk Factors for Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases in Times of Pandemic). Before the pandemic, the survey concluded that 38% of respondents reported practicing at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week. In the most recent edition, from 2023, this percentage dropped to 31%.