This study aimed to determine the association between motivation, self-esteem and body composition in university students' adherence to physical activity.Methods A total of 110 undergraduates from two public universities (Federal and State) in Teresina, Piauí state volunteered for the study. Of these, 75 (68.2 %) were women aged between 18 and 35 years, and 82 (74.5 %) of the students engaged in physical activity. They responded to the Gonçalves Motivation Scale (2010), which contains five factors: Fun, Competency, Appearance, Health and Sociability. Participants also completed the Lages Self-esteem Scale, with sixteen items and five dimensions: Introspection, Physical Image, Life Satisfaction, Acceptance and Confidence. The Jackson and Pollock (1978 and 1980) 3-site skinfold protocol was used to measure fat percentage and body composition by anthropometry (Filizola scale equipped with stadiometer).Results A significant association between the variables of self-esteem and motivation was demonstrated, with the physical image dimension exhibiting the highest association with the motivational factors fun, competency and sociability. Conclusion The findings indicate that adherence to physical activity is associated to motivational factors derived from challenging, integrative and fun-related circumstances.

Validating the computerised scanning of fingerprints as a health diagnosis instrument. A sample of n=15 individuals, two investigators X and two sample methods X. Cummins and Midlo's protocol was used as follows: computerized (M1) and traditional (M2). M1 had greater quantitative capacity for identifying the number of lines. M1 was more efficient, having a higher level of positivity. There was no significant difference between intra- (M1 and M2) and inter-investigator (investigator 1 x investigator 2) observations, thereby showing M1 reproducibility and reliability. There were significant differences between the mean values of the squares of inter-investigator differences (M2's amplitude was 4 times greater). The results showed the efficiency of M1 in processing genetic marker images-fingerprints, thus validating the computerized prototype as a diagnostic instrument health instrument.

This study was aimed at performing a comparative analysis of undergraduates' calorie output during folk-dancing and walking. This was a descriptive study of the calorific output of 35 volunteer students belonging to the Universidade Estadual do Piauí's Dance Company (Teresina, Brazil) ranging in age from 19 to 34, including people from both genders allocated to two groups (dancers and walkers). A Filizola balance was used for estimating body mass, a Sanny metric scale for measuring height and a Caltrac accelerometer 100/100 Plan for measuring energy output. Student t-test and Pearson's correlation were used for statistical analysis (p<0.05 significance level) when comparing results. The results revealed no significant differences between the two undergraduate groups according to duration of activity. Such finding strongly indicates that motivation and dominating the technique (being contrasting elements in the two groups studied) compensated for calorie output, thereby explaining the absence of significant differences. Dancing was seen to be equal to walking as physical activities in terms of calorific output. A significant correlation was found between calorie output levels in both dancing and walking (even though no significant differences between them were verified).