ATIVIDADE FÍSICA E ESTADO NUTRICIONAL: FATOR DE PROTEÇÃO PARA DOENÇAS CRÔNICAS NÃO TRANSMISSÍVEIS (DCNT) EM IDOSAS? Physical activity and nutritional status influence in the rise of chronic noncommunicable diseases in old women? Actividad física y el estado nutricional: factor de protección para las enfermedades crónicas no transmisibles (ECNT) en mujeres mayores?

Objective: To analyze the association of regular physical activity and nutritional status with chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in elderly women. Methods: Observational and analytical cross-sectional study conducted with a convenience sample of 367 elderly women (60 and over) from the cities of Presidente Prudente, SP and Uberaba, MG, between October/2010 and August/2012. NCDs were identified using a questionnaire based on the Standard Health Questionnaire (SHQ). The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used to assess the level of physical activity and anthropometric variables were used to assess the nutritional status. Statistical analysis included the chi-squared test to check for association between physical activity level, according to nutritional status, and the presence of cardiometabolic diseases, and binary logistic regression to test the magnitude of these associations. Results: There was a protective factor against hypertension in active eutrophic women (p=0.024) and sedentary eutrophic women (p=0.032) when compared to the risk group (sedentary and overweight/obesity women); however, this was not observed in physically active overweight women (p=0.734). There was a positive association between sedentary eutrophic elderly women (p=0.047) and the risk for cholesterol. None of the groups were associated with diabetes. Conclusion: Physical activity was not considered a protective factor for hypercholesterolemia, diabetes and hypertension, possibly because of reverse causality given that sedentary women started physical activity after the diagnosis of the disease, which contributed to these results.