Sport activity is it enough?

INTRODUCTION Physical activity (PA) is an important aspect of the lifestyle. Global PA is composed by sport practice, programmed physical exercise and PA in leisure time. The development of not communicable diseases and poor academic performance are often associated with a sedentary lifestyle. AIM The aim of the study was to evaluate global physical activity in a population composed by young athletes. METHODS 320 young athletes (192 male and 128 females, aged 8-18, weight 55.2±15.3 kg, height 162.6±14.3 cm) were enrolled during the evaluation for sport eligibility. They completed a questionnaire in order to assess physical activity (IPAQ, International Physical Activity Questionnaires). The items request were the weekly frequency and duration of: - vigorous physical activity (VPA), - moderate physical activity(MPA), - time spent for walk (W), - sitting position (SP). - Sleep duration per night. RESULTS 254 (81.4 %) subjects were in normal weight (NW), 47 (15.1 %) subjects overweight (OW) and 12 (3.5%) subjects obese (OB). They are engaged in VPA 3.2 times a week for the duration of 91.1 min each session, in MPA 0.8 times a week for 23.3 min, in W 3.5 times a week for 25.0 min and in SP 8.6 h every day. Sleep duration is 8.2±0.8 h per night. CONCLUSIONS Guidelines for physical activity in young people recommend moderate-vigorous exercise every day for a duration of one hour. The population of the study show a global physical activity mainly represented by sport practice while PA in leisure time was poor. Therefore physical activity level result low: MPA is not enough to define a healthy lifestyle. Higher education in young people is necessary in order to reduce sedentary behaviors.