Características do ambiente escolar associadas à prática de educação física e ao deslocamento ativo em adolescentes de Belém-PA: um estudo multinível

Abstract

Understanding how school environment characteristics influence adolescent physical activity behaviors is essential for developing targeted interventions. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between school environment characteristics and the levels of participation in Physical Education (PE) classes and active commuting to school. This is a cross sectional study with multistage sampling, involving 1,719 adolescents from 46 public and private high schools in the municipality of Belém, Pará. The time spent in PE classes and active commuting during the previous week was self-reported based on the National School Health Survey questionnaire. School environment characteristics were obtained through questionnaires completed by school administrators and researcher observation visits. Zero-inflated negative binomial regression models were used to address overdispersion and excess zeros in the data. The results indicated that the majority of students (55.0%) did not participate in practical PE classes, with only 37.6% reporting 30 minutes or more of activity per week. Regarding active commuting, approximately one-third of adolescents (34.6%) did not engage in this type of commuting. In the logit component of the adjusted models, factors associated with reduced odds of non-participation in PE classes included a higher number of PE teachers (OR = 0.79; 95% CI: 0.71–0.87), the presence of locker rooms (OR = 0.66; 95% CI: 0.54–0.83), and school accessibility (OR = 0.68; 95% CI: 0.54–0.86). For active commuting, the presence of sidewalks (OR = 1.34; 95% CI: 1.03–1.74) and bike racks (OR = 1.61; 95% CI: 1.26–2.05) increased the odds of non-engagement, while speed bumps (OR = 0.60; 95% CI: 0.43–0.82) reduced the odds of non-engagement. In conclusion, school environment characteristics have the potential to decrease non-adherence to practical PE classes among adolescents. However, active commuting behaviors may depend on factors beyond infrastructure, requiring further exploration.