Dr. Matus-Castillo, Carlos

Background: A higher educational level is associated with healthier lifestyles. Aim: To assess the association between the level of compliance with physical activity recommendations and years of formal education in Chilean adults. Material and Methods: 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. Results: 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. Conclusions: People with low levels of education are were likely to be physically inactive.

The use of bicycles is an active and sustainable mode of transport par excellence. It is a way of increasing people’s physical activity time and should therefore be promoted in educational contexts. The aim of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of an urban bicycle programme in a sample of 164 university students (n = 164), 88 women and 76 men, using a standardised instrument with pre and post measures after a theoretical–practical intervention. The sample was divided into an intervention group (n = 122) with 69 women and 53 men; and a control group (n = 42) with 19 women and 23 men. The instrument considered conceptual and attitudinal aspects. The results showed that participants in the intervention group obtained statistically significant improvements (p ≤ 0.05) in the measurement. No significant improvements were observed in the control group (p = 0.35), which means that the urban intervention programme is an effective method for increasing bicycling knowledge and attitudes in the university students who participated in the experience.

Background: Active travel has been suggested as a feasible way of increasing physical activity levels. Although international studies have demonstrated its effect over different health outcomes and adiposity, there is still limited evidence on this topic in developing countries, such as Chile. Aim: To investigate the associations between different types of travelling and markers of obesity in the Chilean adult population. Methods: 5411 participants from the Chilean National Health Survey 2016–2017 (CNHS) were included in this study. Active travel was assessed using a questionnaire. Car commuters, public transport (PT), walking and cycling were the four forms of travelling assessed. Bodyweight, body mass index and waist circumference were used as markers of adiposity. Results: Compared to car travellers, body weight, WC and BMI levels were lower for PT walking and cycling travellers. The odds for obesity (Odds ratio (OR): 0.41 (95% CI: 0.28; 0.61 p ≤ 0.001) were lower for walking and the odds (OR: 0.56 (95%CI: 0.35; 0.89 p = 0.014) for central obesity were significantly lower for cyclist in comparison to car travellers. Additionally, participation in any form of active travel (walking or cycling) was low, with only 20.9% of the population reporting being active travellers. Conclusion: Active travel, such as walking and cycling, was associated with lower adiposity levels in the Chilean adult population. Promoting active travel could be a feasible strategy to tackle the high prevalence of obesity and physical inactivity in the Chilean population.