Are physical activity and TV time associated with alcohol and tobacco use? A pooled analysis with over half a million adults

Abstract Background: Studies have shown that PA and high sedentary time are associated with other health-related behaviors, such as alcohol and tobacco use. Objective: To verify the association between physical activity (PA) and TV time with alcohol and tobacco use in Brazilian adults. Methods: A cross-sectional population-based study with a sample of 514,846 Brazilian adults (mean age: 48.1±17.8 years old). PA, TV time, alcohol use, and tobacco use were assessed through telephone interviews. Poisson regression was used to verify the associations between PA and TV time with alcohol and tobacco use, obtaining prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Results: PA was positively associated with regular alcohol use (PR 1.02; 95%CI 1.02–1.03), binge drinking (PR 1.09; 95%CI 1.06–1.11), and was inversely related to regular tobacco use (PR 0.68; 95%CI 0.67–0.69) and smoking more than 20 cigarettes/day (PR 0.50; 95%CI 0,47–0.53). Subjects who watched TV ≥3 hours/day had a higher prevalence of regular alcohol use (PR 1.02; 95%CI 1.01–1.04), binge drinking (PR 1.26; 95%CI 1.22–1.30), regular tobacco use (PR 1.39; 95%CI 1.32–1.46), and smoking >20 cigarettes/day (PR 1.68; 95%CI 1.59–1.77). Conclusion: PA was associated with alcohol use but was protective against tobacco use. TV time was positively associated with alcohol and tobacco use.