Motivation of elderly people to engage in physical exercising: a comparative study between two university-based programs - Brazil and Portugal

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to identify what makes elderly people engage in physical exercising (PE) programs in two fellow universities, in Brazil and Portugal. METHODS: The study has a descriptive design and the sample is composed of 263 subjects of both genders with a mean age of 69.8±6.44 years old. Of those, 213 participate in the "Núcleo de Atividades para a Terceira Idade" (NATI), School of Physical Education, Federal University of Pelotas, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; and 50 subjects take part in the "Projeto Exercício e Saúde: Envelhecimento Ativo" (PESEA), Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Portugal. Data was gathered through a questionnaire specifying socio-demographic characteristics and determinants for PE. For the statistical analysis we used the t Test for independent samples and the confidence value of p<0.05 to calculate the mean difference between groups. RESULTS: Regarding the reasons for adhesion, significant differences were found for "medical prescription" (p<0.001), "injury recovery" (p=0.003), "way of pastime" (p<0.001), and "aesthetic reasons" (p=0.001). As for the importance regarded to PE, a difference for "injury recovery" (p=0.002) and "aesthetic reasons" (p<0.001) was detected. Significant differences related to socio-demographic variables and to determinants for PE were found among the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Even living in different social contexts, the elderly demonstrated to share the same objectives and reasons for engaging in PE programs, perceiving health as a common concern.