Abstract

The relation between physical activity and health status has been deeply investigated in several studies, while the relation between physical activity and socio-economic status (SES) is less investigated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a questionnaire in paying attention to the relation between extra-school physical activity of adolescents and SES of their families. Methods. The survey was carried out submitting an anonymous questionnaire to junior high school students of Itri (LT), in May 2002. Results. A total of 280 students agreed to participate to the study, 143 males (51.1%) and 137 females (48.9%), aged between 11 and 15 years (median age: 12). The results showed that 70.4% of the students declared to practice extra-school physical activity. Parents' educational levels and work activities play a fundamental role in predicting students' physical activity, with the higher remunerated activities and higher educational levels that are more predictive. Conclusion. The pilot study conducted demonstrated the reliability of the questionnaire, because we obtained a full adhesion of the students. Moreover, the results confirm the relation between adolescents' physical activity and their families' SES. This will be useful for school personnel and for politicians in order to reduce the gap between adolescents belonging to disadvantaged families and those with well-to-do ones.