Physical activity in adults and elderly living in areas covered by primary health care units in municipalities of the south and northeast regions of Brazil

Shifts in the demographic structure of the Brazilian population resulted in a rise in the elderly population, and a consequent increase in the burden of chronic diseases. As options of prevention and treatment, both the Primary Health Units (PHU) and physical activity practice are important public health issues. This paper describes the prevalence of sedentary lifestyle and associated factors in populations living in areas covered by PHU in cities of the South and Northeast regions of Brazil. A cross-sectional design was used, including 4060 adults (30-64 years) and 4003 elderly (65-113 years) subjects, living in 41 cities with 100000 inhabitants of more in seven states of the country. The prevalence of sedentary lifestyle was 31.8% (95%CI 30.4-33.2) in adults and 58.0% (95%CI 56.4-59.5) in elderly subjects; sedentary lifestyle was more frequent among subjects living in the Northeast region and among males. Low family income was associated with higher prevalence of sedentary lifestyle both in adults and in the elderly, while the association with low schooling was only observed among the elderly. There was an inverse association between self-reported health status and sedentary lifestyle both for adults and for the elderly. The mean prevalence of sedentary lifestyle was higher among those living in areas covered by pre-PROESF units in comparison to other models of health system. We conclude that the prevalence of sedentary lifestyle is high and that the disadvantaged socioeconomic groups are more likely to be sedentary.