BACKGROUND: Regular physical activity practice is considered an important factor in the population's health and quality of life promotion. In order to evaluate a population's physical activity level (PAL), many instruments are used, among them the IPAQ (International Physical Activity Questionnaire). OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the PAL of Physical Education (PE) undergraduate students concerning gender and study year as well as to compare the PAL of these students with others from different health/biology courses. METHODS: Two hundred and eighty subjects; being 194 PE students (100 men and 94 women) and 86 students (17 men and 69 women) of other courses (Pharmacy; Biochemistry, Dentistry and Biology). The instrument used to measure the PAL was the IPAQ in its short version. RESULTS: Among the PE students, it was found that 92% of them were classified as active or very active; however, there was no significant difference (p > 0,05) between male and female groups. Concerning the other courses, it was observed that the female sample is less physically active than the male one (p < 0,05). Considering the whole group in the category Active/Very Active, the Biology (86,9%) and PE students (90%) were classified as more active than the Biochemistry (56%) and Dentistry (61,1%) ones. However, there was no significant difference (p > 0,05). CONCLUSIONS: Generally, male students have a higher level of physical activity than female ones; the undergraduate students did not show similar patterns of PAL and this level remains constant during the PE course.
IPAQ; Undergraduate students; Physical Education
