Stages of change for leisure time physical activity in Brazilian adults: longitudinal study

The objective of this study was to analyze the maintenance of and movement between stages of change for leisure time physical activity (LTPA) after four years and the association with sociodemographic characteristics. A cross-sectional population-based study was conducted with 1,180 individuals aged 40 years or over in 2011. In 2015, 885 participants were reinterviewed. The dependent variables were the maintenance of and movement between stages of change for LTPA behavior. The data was analyzed using adjusted Poisson regression. We found that around 40% of the study participants were still at the same stage they were at in the first assessment, while 31.6% had relapsed and 27% had advanced at least one stage. The stages that showed the highest frequencies were remained in precontemplation and maintenance. The risk of remaining at the precontemplation stage was higher among men (RR=1.59; 95%CI:1.21-2.11), respondents aged ≥60 years (RR=1.35; 95%CI:1.03-1.78), those with a lower level of education (RR=1.24; 95%CI:1.04-2.33), and those from economic classes C and D/E (RR=1.71; 95%CI:1.17-2.49 and RR=1.88; 95%CI:1.12-3.18, respectively). The frequency of individuals who remained at the maintenance stage was significantly lower in economic classes D/E than in classes A/B (RR=0.35; 95%CI:0.14-0.87).