Júlio Brugnara Mello

Number of steps per day and the screening of cardiovascular disease risk factors in adolescents

Pedometers have been used in some studies to measure physical activity in adolescents. However, cutoff points of steps per day that classify physical activity levels are not yet fully established. The aims of this study were to identify the possibility the number of steps/day to predict cardiovascular disease risk factors in adolescents and to propose cutoff points to the number of steps/day for adolescents. Method: 1,045 adolescents (51.7 % girls) aged 11-17 were randomly selected. The number of steps/day was measured using pedometers. The risk factors considered were total cholesterol, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, skinfold thickness and body mass index. The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve was used to analyze data. Results: ROC curve results indicated that the number of steps/day was able to predict increased systolic blood pressure in boys (<16,134 steps/day; p=0.006), increased diastolic blood pressure in girls (<12,399 steps/day; p=0.023) and increased total cholesterol in both sexes (<11,788 steps/day for boys; p=0.016 and < 9,400 steps/day for girls; p=0.001). Conclusion: It is possible to identify adolescents that are more likely to have increased total cholesterol and blood pressure by the number of steps/day.

A atuação do professor de educação física como gestor escolar

The purpose of this study was to describe the importance of school management for the Physical Education teacher and his behavior as a manager. We interviewed 16 teachers of Physical Education of both sexes of the city of Juiz de Fora. It is a study with descriptive method, qualitative approach and narrative technique. The answers were described in such a way as to preserve the identity of the interviewees, following the order of the questions asked in each block. Through this it can be concluded that the teachers interviewed, although they consider themselves managers, often do not feel capable of being a school manager.