Stages of behavior change for physical activity among college students and associated sociodemographic factors

The objectives of this study were to describe the Stages of Behavior Change (SBC) for Physical Activity (PA) and to identify sociodemographic factors associated with SBC for PA among Physical Education students from a public institution in southern Brazil. This is a cross-sectional study with 236 Physical Education students from the Federal University of Santa Catarina. SBC (pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance) was assessed through a questionnaire. The following sociodemographic variables were analyzed: sex, age, marital status, employment, income, university course and maternal and paternal education. Among students investigated, 18.6% were in stages of physically inactive behavior (0.4 % pre-contemplation, 2.5 % contemplation, 15.7 % preparation). In relation to stages of active behavior, 81.4 % of college students were in the following situation: 18.2 % action; 63.2 % maintenance. Women were more likely to show inactive behavior. Health education programs and encouragement for the practice of sports in universities should be adopted to modify and adopt active behavior.

本研究旨在描述身体活动（Physical Activity, PA）的行为改变阶段（Stages of Behavior Change, SBC），并识别巴西南部某公立院校体育专业学生群体中，与身体活动行为改变阶段相关的社会人口学因素。本研究为横断面研究，共纳入圣卡塔琳娜联邦大学的236名体育专业学生。研究通过问卷对身体活动行为改变阶段（包括前沉思期、沉思期、准备期、行动期与维持期）进行评估。本次分析的社会人口学变量包括：性别、年龄、婚姻状况、就业情况、收入水平、所学专业，以及父母的受教育程度。结果表明，受访学生中18.6%处于身体活动不活跃行为阶段（其中前沉思期占0.4%、沉思期占2.5%、准备期占15.7%）；81.4%处于身体活动活跃行为阶段，其中18.2%为行动期人群，63.2%为维持期人群。女性呈现身体活动不活跃行为的概率显著更高。高校应推行健康教育项目并鼓励体育锻炼实践，以引导学生转变行为模式并建立积极的身体活动习惯。