Objective:

To estimate the prevalence of low levels of physical activity and its association with sociodemographic factors and presence of hypercholesterolemia and diabetes among servers of a public university from State of Paraná, Brazil.

Method:

The sample consisted of 345 public servants. The level of physical activity was assessed by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Socio‐demographic factors (sex, age, economic level, educational level, marital status, and working hours), presence of hypercholesterolemia and diabetes were collected through self‐administered questionnaires. We used descriptive statistics and Chi‐square test and binary logistic regression to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals.

Results:

The prevalence of low levels of physical activity was 41.86%. After adjusted analysis, the servers with twelve years or more of schooling presented more odds (Odds Ratio: 1.73; 95% confidence intervals: 1.02‐2.95) of being insufficiently active than those with less schooling. People who had both hypercholesterolemia and diabetes had higher odds (Odds Ratio: 5.04, 95% confidence intervals: 1.31‐19.25) of being insufficiently active.

Conclusion:

The servers were more likely to have low levels of physical activity were those with high education and had concomitant hypercholesterolemia and diabetes.