SOCCER PRACTICE AND ASSOCIATED SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS IN ADOLESCENTS

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between soccer prac- tice and sociodemographic factors in adolescents. The sample consisted of 906 public school students from Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil, with a mean age of 15.11 (SD=2.19) years. Poisson regression was used to calculate the prevalence ratio (PR) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI). Among the students investigated, 49.1% had not played soccer during the last 7 days. Adolescent girls (PR: 3.28; 95%CI: 2.59-4.15) and high school students (PR: 1.45; 95%CI: 1.10-1.92) presented the highest probability of not playing soccer. Almost half the students do not play soccer and the probability is even lower among adolescent girls and high school students, irrespective of age group and socioeconomic status.