Inatividade física de idosos na comunidade: prevalência e barreiras percebidas

Abstract

The elderly constitute a population that is increasing in an increasingly heterogeneous manner. Given the specific demands of this population, strategies and actions to improve and maintain their health are necessary, such as offering physical activity programs. Practicing regular physical activity is related to reducing the risk of morbidity and mortality, improving the endocrine, metabolic and immunological systems, as well as mental health, in addition to providing a better quality of life for the elderly. The adoption of regular physical activity represents benefits for the health of the elderly, on the other hand, health problems or insufficient facilities, as well as inadequate environments for this practice, constitute barriers faced by the elderly in comparison to other groups. In this sense, the objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of physical inactivity and associated perceived barriers in elderly people living in the community. Cross-sectional, population-based study, carried out with 294 elderly people, of both sexes, aged ≥ 60 years, living in urban and rural areas of the municipality of Matutina – MG. A semi-structured interview was carried out, assessing screening for cognitive deficits, sociodemographic aspects, health conditions, level of physical activity and barriers to practicing physical activity. For statistical analysis, Poisson Regression models were used, considering the significance levels: p<0.20 in the crude analysis (model 1) and p<0.05 in the adjusted analysis (model 2). The findings of this study demonstrated that, in relation to the level of physical activity, the frequency of insufficiently active people prevailed in three of the four domains: work (86.1%), commuting (78.6%) and free time (76.2%). On the other hand, in the domestic task’s domain, the majority of elderly people, 62.2%, were classified as sufficiently active. Regarding the level of total physical activity, 81.3% of the elderly were considered sufficiently active. Regarding the number of perceived barriers to practicing physical activity, the average reported by the elderly was 4.3 (±3.4), with the most reported being: fear of injury/fall (34.4%), not liking of physical activity (33.7%), no energy (33.0%) and having an injury or illness (32.2%). Insufficiently active elderly people reported a greater number of barriers (3.8±3.1), when compared to sufficiently active ones (6.3±3.8) (p<0.001). Regarding the association between perceived barriers and physical inactivity, four barriers remained associated: having an injury or illness (PR = 2.50; IC95%: 1.41-4.43; p=0.002); fear of injury or falls (PR = 1.99; IC95%: 1.02-3.87; p=0.042); being very obese or very thin (PR = 2.06; IC95%:1.18-3.62; p=0.011); lack of energy (PR = 2.05; IC95%:1.19-3.54; p=0.010). It was found that barriers related to the physical and behavioral domains were associated with physical inactivity. These results indicate the need for strategies to reduce these barriers, with the aim of increasing the practice of regular physical activity among elderly people.