Influence of sociodemographic and economic factors on physical activity among university students

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the influence of socioeconomic factors on the variation in time spent by university students on physical activity after the first academic year. Methods: Quantitative longitudinal study of 348 full-time university students aged 16-25 years from the capital of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Change in time spent on moderate and vigorous physical activity was assessed in minutes per week through the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). The following independent variables were analyzed: gender, age, race/skin color, economic class, students’ housemates and field of study. Multinomial regression analysis was used to check for associations between physical activity time variation in tertiles and the independent variables. Results: The overall change in median physical activity time in one year was -90.0 minutes/week. Students of higher socioeconomic status maintained the same physical activity time, while those in other socioeconomic classes showed a decrease in such time after the first year at university. After adjustments, lower economic class (OR=2.85; 95%CI= 1.26-6.43) and living in a shared house (OR=2.84; 95%CI= 1.26-6.38) were associated with decrease in time spent on physical activity. Conclusion: There was a decrease in time spent on physical activity among students belonging to the lower economic classes who lived in a shared house after the first year at university.