Does nutritional status moderate the association between social support, self-efficacy, and physical activity time of adolescents?

The scope of this paper is to analyze the association between social support, self-efficacy and practice time of physical activity of different intensity (light, moderate, vigorous) and evaluate if these associations are moderated by the nutritional status of adolescents. It involved a cross-sectional study with 650 adolescents (10-14 years old, 52.9% female) from Joao Pessoa, State of Paraiba. Social support was measured by a scale with five items for each source of support (father, mother and friends) and self-efficacy, with a scale of four items. The physical activity time was measured by means of an accelerometer and the nutritional status was assessed by body mass index. The results of the multiple linear regression analysis showed that social support of friends was positively and significantly associated with moderate intensity physical activity time (beta=2.67; CI95%: 0.28; 5.07). The nutritional status did not moderate the association of social support and self-efficacy with the duration of physical activity (p>0.05). The conclusion drawn is that adolescents who perceived that they are receiving more social support from friends tend to practice more moderate intensity physical activity, irrespective of their nutritional status.