This study evaluated the knowledge about physical activity and its relation to the prevention of chronic diseases and effect on the human body in adolescents who attend classes in high school in the urban area of Pelotas. It was conducted a cross-sectional, school-based survey was carried out among 1233 individuals aged 13 to 19 years. The questionnaire originated a score (range 0-22 points). Mean score for the sample was 14.1 (SD = 3.0). More than 60% of adolescents associated physical activity to the prevention of chronic diseases like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, osteoporosis and depression. The knowledge was positively associated to social strata, white color and age and grade. Among women, those who had a self-perceived health the good and excellent also had the knowledge. Education programs for health must be desenvolved to in for young people about the influence of the risk behavior in an attempt to minimize the sendentary behavior and possibly the number of obese in adolescence and adulthood.
Knowledge; Motor Activity; Adolescent; Education; Chronic Disease
