[Association of physical inactivity with low levels of education]

A higher educational level is associated with healthier lifestyles.

To assess the association between the level of compliance with physical activity recommendations and years of formal education in Chilean adults.

Analysis include 6,174 participants from the National Health Survey 2016-2017. Physical activity levels were assessed through the Global Physical Questionnaire (GPAQ v2). Physical inactivity was defined as < 600 MET/minute/week.

Among subjects without education, 44% and 27% of women and men respectively, were physically inactive. Among women and men with the highest number of years of education (> 16) the figures for physical inactivity were 27% and 15% respectively. The odds for not meeting the physical activity recommendations was 2.3 [95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.57; 3.38] and 3.9 [95% CI: 2.27; 6.95] in women and men without any formal education respectively, as compared with those who reported 12 years of education. Women and men who reported a high level of education ≥ (16 years) did not show significant differences compared to the reference group.

People with low levels of education are were likely to be physically inactive.