School environment and physical activity in adolescents from Sao Paulo city

Author(s)

Ferrari, Gerson ^[1] ; Rezende, Leandro F. M. ^[2] ; Florindo, Alex A. ^{[3, 4]} ; Mielke, Gregore I. ^[5] ; Peres, Maria Fernanda Tourinho ^[6]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Santiago Chile USACH, Escuela Ciencias Actividad Fis El Deporte & Salud, Estac Cent, Sophoras 175, Santiago - Chile

^[2] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Med Prevent, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, School Arts Sci & Humanities, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Sch Publ Hlth, Dept Nutr, Grad Program Nutr Publ Hlth, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[5] Univ Queensland, Sch Human Movement & Nutr Sci, Brisbane, Qld - Australia

^[6] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Dept Med Prevent, Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS; v. 11, n. 1 SEP 13 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

We examined the association of physical activity (PA) facilities and access to school with total PA and domain-specific PA in adolescents. We enrolled 2610 adolescents (mean: 14.9 years) from Sao Paulo city. The number and presence of sports courts, swimming pools, locker rooms, running/athletics tracks, entrance accessible for student cyclists, bike racks, speed limit signal around the school, and pedestrian crossing were assessed in each school. All participants responded to a questionnaire about frequency and duration of physical education classes, leisure time, and active commuting. Total PA was obtained by adding up all PA domains. Presence of three or more (OR: 1.62; 95% CI: 1.15 to 2.30) sports courts, swimming pool available in usable conditions (OR: 1.45; 95% CI: 1.01 to 2.10), running/athletics tracks (OR: 2.35; 95% CI: 1.07 to 5.18), and bike racks (OR: 1.38; 95% CI: 1.07 to 1.78) were positively associated with total PA. Number of sports courts, swimming pool available in usable conditions, speed limit signals around the school, and pedestrian crossings were positively associated with physical education classes. The bike racks, speed limit signs around the school, and pedestrian crossings were positively associated with active commuting. School environment was associated with increased PA. Our findings should be considered in future epidemiologic studies and for educational and health policy makers. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/22259-4 - Risk and protective factors for adolescent violent behaviour in Sao Paulo, Brazil - The Sao Paulo Project on the Social Development of Children
• Grantee: Maria Fernanda Tourinho Peres
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants