Prevalence of physical inactivity and its association on oral conditions in adolescents.

BACKGROUND: The Brazilian population presents an ever-increasing number of sedentary people with poor oral health issues, including children and adolescents. Both physical inactivity and poor oral health have shown associations with various systemic diseases. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to verify the association between physical inactivity and oral health conditions. SUBJECTS: Three hundred and fifty-three adolescents (mean age 13 and 17 years). METHODS: An epidemiological cross-sectional study. Assessment of the presence of caries was made by using the decayed, missing, filled (DMF) index. Gingival bleeding and quality of oral hygiene were also examined to evaluate the oral conditions. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (PAQ-C) was used to assess physical activity. The confidence parameter was set at p=0.05. RESULTS: The results of this study showed that 74.3% were sedentary adolescents, the great majority of whom were girls (86.4%, p=0.001). There was a positive association between sedentary lifestyle and tooth decay (p=0.001), dental plaque (p=0.009), and time spent watching television (p=0.001). CONCLUSION: This study concluded that there was a positive association between physical inactivity and poor oral health.