Abstract

RUIZ-JUAN, Francisco; CRUZ-SANCHEZ, Ernesto de la  and  GARCIA-MONTES, María Elena. Motives for playing sports and its relationship with tobacco and alcohol consumption in a sample of Spanish students. Salud pública Méx [online]. 2009, vol.51, n.6, pp.496-504. ISSN 0036-3634.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between the practice of leisure time physical activity and consumption of alcohol and smoking among young people and to define the relationship between the consumption of these substances with motives for playing sports. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 3 840 young people from different levels of the public educational system in Almeria (Spain) took part in this study. Multinomial logistic regression was used to model the associations among the variables and to calculate odd ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for each pattern of physical activity. RESULTS: Females smoke more than males (p<0.05) at all educational levels) whereas males consume more alcohol at an early age. There is a lower consumption of cigarettes as time spent doing physical activity increases, whereas the relationship of alcohol consumption to physical activity and playing sports is variable. CONCLUSIONS: The less physical activity practiced, the more likely it is to find smokers, while its relationship with the intake of alcohol differs according to the level of physical activity.

Keywords : motor activity; alcoholism; sports; smoking; motivation; Spain.

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