Portuguese adults' physical activity during different periods of the year

This study aims to describe the daily physical activity (PA) of a sample of adults over the course of 1 year and to examine if there are any changes in achieving PA recommendations when assessed at different periods of the year. Participants, 257 women (age: 58.99 ± 18.93 years, BMI: 26.75 ± 4.57 kg m(-2)) and 178 men (age: 49.22 ± 20.39 years, BMI: 26.81 ± 3.51 kg m(-2)), wore an accelerometer 4-7 days. Periods of data collection were defined as T1 (September to December), T2 (January to April) and T3 (May to July). From T1 and T2, men from 20 to 39 years significantly increased values of daily average ct.min(-1) (U = 506, p = 0.012), due to an increase in moderate-to-vigorous PA by 15.96 min (U = 455, p = 0.003). Achievement of the two PA recommendations varied throughout the year and among the gender/age groups. Results from this study showed that women generally maintain their level of PA throughout the year, whereas men show some variation, and that there are periods of the year when individuals are more likely to be involved in PA, or perform lower-intensity activities, especially older age groups. Also, recommendations of minimum PA are not accomplished in a constant way throughout the year. PA interventions should be conducted while being mindful of the time of year in which they will take place in order to help maintain a consistent PA level throughout the year to ensure health benefits from PA.