HEALTH STATUS, PHYSICAL FITNESS, AND CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS IN A PHYSICALLY ACTIVE POPULATION IN PORTO ALEGRE, BRAZIL

Objectives: The purpose of this study IS to investigate the health and estimate the cardiovascular disease risk of a physically active population in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Methods: The sample consisted of 592 elderly individuals from five units of the Porto Alegre Municipal Sports, Recreation, and Leisure Center (SME-PMPA). Patient histories were obtained, and all the patients underwent anthropometric and functional evaluations. Results: The results demonstrated compatibility between self-reported diseases and regularly used medications. They also revealed a high prevalence of the use of proton-pump inhibitors. The participants were classified as irregularly active and active according to the IPAQ classification. The systolic blood pressure of 44.8% of the participants was optimal, and the diastolic blood pressure of 83.1% of the study group was normal. The lipid profiles, with the exception of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, of most of the participants were satisfactory. In the study group, 29% of the participants had prediabetes according to their fasting blood glucose levels, and 6.9% had diabetes. The anthropometric evaluations (body mass index [BMI] and waist to hip ratio [WHR]) revealed an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors among the majority of the participants. According to the functional evaluations, the balance and range of motion of the majority of the elderly population were satisfactory or good. However, the performance of the participants was not as good in the strength tests. The Framingham score showed that 4% of the study group had a high risk of cardiovascular disease. Conclusion: These results were in accordance with the characteristics of the population. However, health indicators of a large number of the participants were inadequate, and new strategies are needed to improve these