Implicancias en la actividad física y la salud del Programa CicloRecreoVía en Chile

Resumen

Background: An interesting initiative to promote active lifestyles is the CicloRecreoVia program, which closes a set of public streets on Sunday mornings, allowing people to carry out physical activities (PA) in streets free of vehicles. Aim: To characterize PA and mobility patterns of participants of the CicloRecreoVia program in Santiago, Chile. Material and methods: A survey about type, frequency and duration of the PA, daily mobility habits, motivations for using the CicloRecreoVia, and self-perceived health condition was answered by 401 participants aged 37 ± 14 years (65% males) of five circuits of the CicloRecreoVia. Results: Participants spent 113 minutes in the CicloRecreoVia, 77% declared walking or bicycling at least 10 minutes per day and 56.7% commuted actively (bicycling or walking) at least four times per week. Finally, 69.1% perceived their health condition “better” or “much better” than one year ago. Conclusions: Most of the surveyed users achieved approximately 75% of the recommended weekly PA by using the CicloRecreoVía. The main motivations to participate in the program were to make PA, to be outdoor and to socialize. As a result, the CicloRecreoVía has the potential to become an effective public nationwide health policy to combat obesity.