Exercício físico e saúde: programas de intervenção de exercícios físicos sobre indicadores de saúde em homens privados de liberdade

Abstract

Introduction: The Brazilian prison system faces various challenges, such as unhygienic conditions, overcrowding, the spread of epidemics, and substance use. These factors have been identified as the main cause of health problems among incarcerated individuals. Intervention strategies that promote physical activity among this group, can be a relevant approach to promote improvement in health, reducing the risk factors for the development of some non-communicable diseases. Objective: To estimate the effects of exercise programs on health indicators in men deprived of liberty. Method: The dissertation is structured in two studies. The first, a systematic review, searched the PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, BVS, and SPORTDiscus databases following the PRISMA guidelines to analyse different physical exercise programs for the prison population. The second study, a randomized controlled trial, was conducted in a penitentiary in the state of Sergipe, Brazil. The initial sample comprised 50 volunteers, aged 18 to 56 years, randomized into two groups: experimental and control. The intervention consisted of a 16-week physical exercise program. Information on anthropometric indices, cardiovascular response, quality of life, and psychological aspects was collected at two time points: before the intervention and after 16 weeks of intervention, in both groups. Descriptive analyses, between-group comparisons, and generalized estimating equations were performed using Jamovi 2.2.5 and GraphPad Prism 8 software, considering p < 0.05. Results: Six studies met the eligibility criteria for the systematic review, which showed overall positive effects of interventions on anthropometric indices, physical fitness, cardiovascular response, and quality of life. Regarding the randomized controlled trial, the final sample consisted of 28 participants and the results indicated significant differences between the groups. In the experimental group, there was an increase in BMI (p ≤ 0.001) and group x time interaction (p ≤ 0.02), as well as an increase in WHR (p ≤ 0.001) and WHtR (p ≤ 0.001). Regarding quality of life, there was also a significant increase in the domains physical aspects (p ≤ 0.04), emotional aspects (p ≤ 0.04), and social aspects (p ≤ 0.02) showing improvement over time. In the control group, only the vigor domain (p ≤ 0.01) showed a significant increase over time in the psychological aspect. No significant results were observed for the cardiovascular response variables. Conclusion: Physical exercise programs developed in prisons and designed for people deprived of liberty can lead to an improvement in different health indicators of this population. However, the programmes must be developed taking into account the specifities of the target groups, based on their characteristics and needs, in order to achieve better results.