Relationship between physical activity and the sense of coherence in healthy adults

Objective

This study seeks to stablish a relation between the level of physical activity and the sense of coherence in young adults.

Design

Cross sectional and analytical study in healthy young participants.

Site

Web form application.

Participants

191 active or inactive adult men or women between the ages of 18 and 45 without cognitive alterations. Professional or amateur athletes were excluded.

Main measurements

Correlation between the sense of coherence instrument (SOC-13) and Inventory of Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) were applied.

Results

The physical activity levels in the sample were distributed as: high level 34%, medium level 52%, and low level 13%. The mean of SOC-13 was 52.4. No difference was found when comparing between SOC-13 for each group of physical activity (high: 55, medium: 54, low: 58, p > 0.05), no correlation between SOC-13, age, and MET's reported by participants was found.

Conclusions

In healthy individuals, the IPAQ measure of physical activity levels showed no correlation with the sense of coherence in healthy young adults. Apparently, a sedentary lifestyle does not correlate with an individual's self-directed pursuit of health. It is possible that being physically active or sedentary is related to extrinsic variables associated with culture or family environment.