Factores asociados a inactividad física en Chile: resultados de la Encuesta Nacional de Salud 2009-2010 / Correlates of physical inactivity: Findings from the Chilean National Health Survey 2009-2010

RESUMEN

Background: Physical inactivity is an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Aim: To identify factors associated with physical inactivity in Chilean adults. Material and Methods: Participants from the Chilean Health Survey (5,133 individuals) were included in this study. Physical activity was measured using the Global physical activity questionnaire (GPAQ). Physical inactivity was defined as < 600 MET. min.week−1 of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity. Logistic regression was used to identify correlates of physical inactivity. Results: The main finding of this study were that women (odds ratio (OR) 1.51 [95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.32-1.72]) were more likely to be inactive compared to men and that older adults were more likely to be inactive than their younger or middle age counterparts (OR 3.06 [95% CI 2.45-3.82]). Other correlates of physical inactivity were individuals with obesity (OR 1.43 [95% CI 1.20-1.70]), diabetes (OR 1.96 [95% CI 1.61-2.38]), hypertension (OR 1.72 [95% CI 1.50-1.97]), metabolic syndrome (OR 1.42 [95% IC 1.18-1.70]), a low education level (OR 1.26 [95% CI 1.06-1.49]) and higher levels of sedentary behavior (OR 2.77 [95% CI 2.36-3.25]). Conclusions: Women, older people and sedentary subjects with chronic non-transmissible conditions are at higher risk of being physically inactive.