Stages of behavior change for physical activity among college students and associated sociodemographic factors

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to describe the Stages of Behavior Change (SBC) for Physical Activity (PA) and to identify sociodemographic factors associated with SBC for PA among Physical Education students from a public institution in southern Brazil. This is a cross-sectional study with 236 Physical Education students from the Federal University of Santa Catarina. SBC (pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance) was assessed through a questionnaire. The following sociodemographic variables were analyzed: sex, age, marital status, employment, income, university course and maternal and paternal education. Among students investigated, 18.6% were in stages of physically inactive behavior (0.4 % pre-contemplation, 2.5 % contemplation, 15.7 % preparation). In relation to stages of active behavior, 81.4 % of college students were in the following situation: 18.2 % action; 63.2 % maintenance. Women were more likely to show inactive behavior. Health education programs and encouragement for the practice of sports in universities should be adopted to modify and adopt active behavior.