The combined association of physical activity and sedentary behavior with adverse health factors is not yet clear in the literature. A combined analysis of physical activity level and sedentary behavior may provide evidence of the interrelation between these behavioral variables and the frailty syndrome. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the relationship between physical activity level, sedentary behavior and frailty in older adults. In this study, we evaluated 457 older adults (age range = 60 to 96 years old) from the Longitudinal Study of the Elderly Health of Alcobaça, Bahia. The frailty condition was defined by the presence of three or more of the following criteria: unintentional weight loss, slow walking speed measured over a 4.57 m test, a reduction of manual grip strength and exhaustion. Based upon these criteria, participants were classified as non-frail or frail. Physical activity level and time spent in sedentary behavior were assessed with the International Questionnaire of Physical Activity. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the sample. To examine the combined association of physical activity and sedentary behavior with frailty, chi-square and Poisson regression tests were used. Statistical significance was defined as p ≤ 0.05. The prevalence of frailty was 8.8% (n = 40), with higher prevalence observed with increasing age. Low physical activity level combined with excessive time spent in sedentary behavior (physical activity level < 150 min/wk. and sedentary behavior ≥540 min/day) was associated with frailty, resulting in a prevalence ratio of 2.83 (95% CI, 1.23 to 6.52). Frailty is more prevalent among older adults who exhibit insufficient levels of physical activity combined with a great amount of time spent in sedentary behavior, even when adjusted for sociodemographic factors.

This paper aims to analyse whether time spent in sedentary behaviour was a discriminant criterion for frailty in older adults. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in a sample of 457 elderly individuals aged ≥60 years. Frailty was defined as the presence of three or more of the following criteria: Unintentional weight loss, low walking speed at a 4.57 m course, reduced manual grip strength, exhaustion and insufficient physical activity level. Participants were classified into two groups: Non-frail or frail. Exposure to sedentary behaviour was assessed by the time spent sitting during a typical week, according to the adapted version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Descriptive (mean, frequency) and inferential statistics (Poisson regression, Pearson’s Chi-square, Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve) were used to analyse the data, comparing them to the time-related areas exposed to sedentary behaviour by gender and the presence of fragility. The prevalence of frailty was 22.1% (n = 101). The most accurate cut-off points of sitting time for predicting frailty were >495 min/day (men) or >536 min/day (women). Time spent in sedentary behaviour can be used to indicate fragility in the elderly of both sexes.

O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar os correlatos da não participação nas aulas de Educação Física (EFI) entre escolares brasileiros nas cinco regiões do Brasil. Trata-se de um estudo transversal utilizando dados de escolares do 9º ano do Ensino Fundamental, de ambos os sexos, participantes da Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde do Escolar (PeNSE), 2015. A variável dependente foi a não participação nas aulas de EFI. Indicadores sociodemográficos, de estrutura escolar e comportamentais foram as variáveis independentes, avaliadas por questionários autoaplicáveis. A regressão logística binária foi usada para estimar as razões de chance, nas análises brutas e ajustadas. Participaram do estudo 84.807 escolares. A prevalência de não participação nas aulas de EFI foi de 17,9%, sendo mais alta na região Nordeste (26,9%). O sexo feminino, não ter materiais esportivos em condição de uso e ser inativo no lazer mostraram maiores chances de não participação nas aulas de EFI em todas as regiões. Escolares de municípios não capitais das regiões Nordeste, Sudeste, Sul e Centro-Oeste apresentaram menores chances de não participação. As demais variáveis mostraram associações com chances maiores ou menores a depender da região do país. Para as cinco regiões do país, foi identificado um claro padrão de correlatos da não participação nas aulas de EFI, envolvendo sexo, atividade física insuficiente no lazer e materiais das aulas. Os demais correlatos da participação nas aulas variaram nas associações, a depender da região do país. A proposição de intervenções para aumentar a participação nas aulas de EFI entre os jovens brasileiros deve considerar as potenciais diferenças regionais quantos aos seus correlatos.