Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 30, 2026
Visualization of Intensity Levels to Reduce the Gap Between Self-Reported and Directly Measured Physical Activity
Published on: March 7, 2019
Do students know the physical activity recommendations for health promotion?
Adilson Marques1, João Martins, Hugo Sarmento
1Interdisciplinary Centre for the Study of Human Performance, Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.
Background:
Knowledge is required for people to make health decisions. It can be conjectured that knowledge of physical activity recommended levels can be a step to behavior change. This study examined the knowledge of physical activity guidelines of adolescents who were completing the secondary school.
Methods:
A survey was conducted with 2718 students (1613 girls), aged 16 to 18 years (Mean = 17.2 ± 0.2 years). Gender and age were self-reported and socioeconomic status was calculated based on parental occupation. Students were asked about frequency, duration, and intensity of physical activity to achieve the recommended level. Chi-square was applied to the results.
Results:
16.2% reported that physical activity should be practiced daily. For the duration component of the recommendation, 43.5% identified correctly that the minimum recommended is 60 min/day. The intensity component was correctly answered by 62.7%. Considering all the components of the recommendation, only 3.6% of the students were able to identify correctly the physical activity recommendation, with no differences between genders or among socioeconomic status.
Conclusions:
These results highlight the need for an effective communication strategy for disseminating the message to ensure that young people are aware of, and understand the physical activity guidelines.
Related Concept Videos
01:25Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention I
The health belief model (HBM) attempts to predict health-related behavior in specific belief patterns. According to the HBM, a person's...
01:26Levels of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention
In primary prevention, actions taken before disease onset prevent the disease from...
01:18Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention II
The agent-host-environment model states that disease results...
01:20Lifestyle Factors and Health
Benefits of Physical Activity
Physical activity, whether through structured exercise or casual activities like walking, biking, or dancing, is a cornerstone of a...
01:17Exercise and Cardiac Output
Sustained exercise increases the muscles' oxygen demand, which can be...
01:20Exercise and Cardiovascular Response
Light to moderate physical activity initiates a series of interconnected responses in the body. The heart rate modestly increases in anticipation of the workout, followed by widespread vasodilation as oxygen consumption by skeletal muscles increases. This results in decreased peripheral resistance, increased capillary blood flow, and accelerated...