Prevalence of obesity, overweight and abdominal obesity and its association with physical activity in a federal university.

A cross sectional study to investigate the prevalence of obesity, overweight and abdominal obesity and its association with the level of physical activity (PA) measured in employees of a Rio de Janeiro University according to the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ).299 employees selected by random sampling were interviewed. The association between PA and anthropometric markers was estimated by Poisson models (robust variance). The prevalence of obesity was 27.4% (men 22.8% and 36.3% women), the prevalence of overweight was 63.5% (men 65.0% and women 65.8%) and the prevalence of abdominal obesity was 45.2% (men 35.5% and 63.7% women). Women reported a higher prevalence of low PA (42.2%) compared to men (33.0%). The models adjusted for socio-demographic and behavioral variables and habits related to health, showed a significant association between PA and the outcomes analyzed. The low level of practice of PA (high level reference) has remained associated with the occurrence of obesity (PR = 1.89; 95%CI 1.05 - 3.42) and overweight (PR = 1.40; 95%CI 1.08 - 1.80). For the abdominal obesity, both the mid level (PR = 1.70; 95%CI 1.11 - 2.58) and the low level (PR = 1.74; 95%CI 1.14 - 2.66) were related. This study found inverse association between the practice of PA and obesity in line with what has been recommended by the WHO, and it reinforces the use of IPAQ in population studies. Specifically in relation to abdominal obesity, a remarkable gradient was not observed between levels of PA, suggesting that what is important is the high level of practice of PA.