ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the following six body weight (BW) estimation methods in Campolina (CAM) horses: A - weight tape placed at three different positions on the animal’s thorax; B - Crevat and Quetelet’s formula; C - Hall’s formula; D - Hintz and Griffiths’s table; E - Santos’s table; and F - Cintra’s formula. A total of 380 CAM horses were separated according to sex, age class, and gestational stage and evaluated. To determine their accuracy, weights measured on a scale and weight estimates of the six methods were compared by paired t-test, mean prediction error (MPE), and coefficient of determination (R2), using R software. The predictive capacity of method F was lower in the 6-12 months age class, so this formula is not indicated. The BW was overestimated compared with the actual weight by methods A (with weight tape placed in position 3) and B and underestimated by method C. Methods D and E accurately estimated BW of CAM horses. Correction factors are required to accurately estimate BW in this breed using methods B and C. Method A with the weight tape placed in position 2 is the most accurate for predicting BW, including pregnant female horses, and can, therefore, be considered the most suitable method for estimating BW of CAM horses.

OBJETIVO: Descrever o nível de atividade física de adolescentes nascidos em 1993 em Pelotas (Brasil) e avaliar o efeito de variáveis socioculturais sobre o nível de atividade física. MÉTODOS: Utilizamos uma combinação de duas abordagens metodológicas, a epidemiológica e a etnográfica. No estudo epidemiológico, 4 452 adolescentes nascidos em 1993 foram entrevistados. O nível de atividade física foi avaliado através de questionário. Foram classificados como sedentários os adolescentes com menos de 300 minutos por semana de atividade física. O estudo etnográfico incluiu 69 adolescentes, selecionados aleatoriamente entre todos os participantes da coorte. Foram realizadas, em média, três entrevistas aprofundadas (uma a cada 6 meses), separadamente com as mães e os adolescentes. RESULTADOS: A prevalência de sedentarismo foi de 48,7% (IC95%: 46,5 a 50,8) nos meninos e 67,5% (IC95%: 65,6 a 69,5) nas meninas (P < 0,001). A variável independente que apresentou a associação mais forte com o nível de atividade física foi o número de vezes por semana que o adolescente encontrava amigos fora do ambiente escolar. O estudo etnográfico mostrou que os meninos têm mais apoio social e familiar para a realização de atividades físicas na adolescência e que muitos pais atribuem o mau desempenho escolar ao tempo gasto na rua. CONCLUSÕES: Este estudo sugere que a atividade física é muitas vezes considerada como concorrente dos valores familiares na adolescência. É importante que essa noção seja foco de estudos adicionais e que seja trabalhada junto às famílias para que a atividade física possa ser adotada como um hábito cultural.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the level of physical activity in adolescents born in 1993 in the city of Pelotas, Brazil, and to evaluate the effect of sociocultural variables on those levels. METHODS: A combined ethno-epidemiological methodology was employed. In the epidemiological study, 4 452 adolescents born in 1993 were interviewed. Physical activity level was evaluated by means of a questionnaire. Adolescents with fewer than 300 minutes of physical activity per week were classified as sedentary. The ethnographic study included 69 adolescents randomly selected from among all cohort participants. On average, three in-depth interviews were carried out (about one every 6 months), with mothers and adolescents being interviewed separately. RESULTS: The prevalence of a sedentary lifestyle was 48.7% (95%CI: 46.5 to 50.8) in boys and 67.5% (95%CI: 65.6 to 69.5) in girls (P < 0.001). The independent variable presenting the strongest association with physical activity level was the weekly frequency with which the adolescent met friends outside of school. The ethnographic study showed that boys have more social and family support to engage in physical activities in adolescence, but that many parents associate poor school performance with the amount of time spent outside the home. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that physical activity is often viewed as competing with family values in adolescence. This perspective should be explored in future studies and discussed with families so that physical activity may be adopted as a cultural norm.