Asociación entre las etapas de cambio comportamental hacía la actividad física y la preferencia de consumo de bebidas azucaradas, en una muestra de población universitaria de Bogotá, Colombia
Thesis
Introduction: High consumption of sugars and physical inactivity are risk factors for the appearance of NCDs. One of the main sources of added sugars are Sweetened Beverages (SBs). Then, together consumption of SBs and low physical activity represents a serious public health problem. Therefore, it is relevant to understand the habits related to the consumption preferences of SBs and physical activity (PA). Objective: The main goal of this study was to determine the stages of behavioral change in PA, the preference for consuming SBs within a group of university students and, the relationship between both variables according to gender and type of university. Methodology: We used a cross-sectional study with 7.741 university students from Bogotá, Colombia. The stages of behavioral change (precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance and termination) and preference of SBs (Totally dislike, neither like nor dislike, totally like and have never drink it) were estimated from a multiple choice questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to present the data and find the differences between groups according to sex and type of university. The association between the variables behavior change and consumption preference was determined using the X2 test, assuming a value of statistical significance 5% (p value <0.05). Results: Differences between men and women were found in the SBs consumption preference (32.8% of men vs 20.2% of women, p <0.001). Additionally, it was found that 4.1% of men and 6.1% of women said that they had never consumed SBs. Regarding the stages of behavioral change towards PA, it was found that the majority of students were in the stage of preparation for PA, with a higher proportion in men than women (men: 56.7% vs. women: 41.6% p value <0.001). It was found that the SBs preference was greater in public universities than in private ones (Public U.= 28.7% vs. Private U.= 23.7%, p<0.001) and, that the majority of the population is in the preparation stage in behavior change towards PA (Public U.= 52.8% and Private U.= 41.9%). Finally, an association was found between the preference of SBs and certain stages of behavioral change according to gender and type of university. In all the categories of preference towards the SBs, the students were in the stage of preparation towards the PA, being the categories of total dislike and neither like nor dislike the ones that had a significant association with this stage according to gender (p<0.001). Conclusion: It was determined that in university students there are differences in SBs consumption preferences and stages of behavioral change towards PA depending on gender and type of university. In addition, the consumption preferences of SBs of total dislike as well as total liking were associated with the action, maintenance and termination stages (p < 0.001).
