Trends in leisure-time physical activity in Brazilian adults (2006-2016)

This study aimed to analyze time trends in leisure-time physical activity in adults in Brazilian state capitals and the Federal District from 2006 to 2016. The study was based on data from the Risk and Protective Factors Surveillance System for Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases Through Telephone Interview (VIGITEL), collected by the Ministry of Health from 2006 to 2016 (n = 572,437). VIGITEL conducts interviews annually with more than 50,000 adults (>= 18 years) living in households with hardline telephones. The main relevant VIGITEL questions for this study deal with leisure-time physical activity. We estimated the annual percentage of leisure-time physical activity in the three months prior to the interview, in addition to sufficient levels of such activit (>= 150 minutes/week), available from 2009 to 2016 for the adult population as whole and according to sex, age, and schooling. There was an increase (p < 0.05) both in the percentage of leisure-time physical activity in the three months prior to the interview (from 44.0 to 53.6%, or 0.97 percentage points per year) and in the percentage of individuals that achieved recommended levels of physical activity, from 30.3 to 37.6% (1.20 percentage points per year) from 2009 to 2016. The increases were more frequent in women, younger adults, and those with more schooling. There was an increase in physical activity in the majority of the situations studied. Although this increase reduces the differences between men and women, the differences increased between young people and older individuals and between those at the extremes of educational levels.