Effectiveness of a School-Based Intervention on Physical Activity for High School Students in Brazil: The Saude na Boa Project
in Journal of Physical Activity and HealthClick name to view affiliation
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Background:
We evaluated the effectiveness of a school-based intervention on the promotion of physical activity among high school students in Brazil: the Saude na Boa project.
Methods:
A school-based, randomized trial was carried out in 2 Brazilian cities: Recife (northeast) and Florianopolis (south). Ten schools in each city were matched by size and location, and randomized into intervention or control groups. The intervention included environmental/organizational changes, physical activity education, and personnel training and engagement. Students age 15 to 24 years were evaluated at baseline and 9 months later (end of school year).
Results:
Although similar at baseline, after the intervention, the control group reported significantly fewer d/wk accumulating 60 minutes+ moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in comparison with the intervention group (2.6 versus 3.3, P < .001). The prevalence of inactivity (0 days per week) rose in the control and decreased in the intervention group. The odds ratio for engaging at least once per week in physical activity associated with the intervention was 1.83 (95% CI = 1.24–2.71) in the unadjusted analysis and 1.88 (95% CI = 1.27–2.79) after controlling for gender.
Barros and Honda Barros are with the Dept of Physical Education, Universidade de Pernambuco, Arnobio Marques, 310, Santo Amaro, Recife, Pernambuco, 50100-130, Brazil. Nahas and de Farias are with the Dept of Physical Education, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Campus Universitário—Trindade, Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, 88040900, Brazil. Hallal is with the Postgraduate Program in Epidemiology, Federal University of Pelotas, 96020-220, Pelotas, Brazil. Florindo is with the Dept of Physical Activity Sciences, University of Sao Paulo, School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities, Sao Paulo, 03828-000, Brazil.
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