Background:

Sedentary lifestyle and physical inactivity in Chile, has become a major problem and a public health priority in the last decade, as it increases the risk of non-communicable diseases.

Aim:

To identify which factors are associated with sedentary lifestyle and physical inactivity in Chile.

Material and Methods:

Qualitative systematic review of papers published between 2009-2019 in BIREME, SCIELO, WoS, Scopus and Medline databases, retrieving 29,752 and leaving finally five articles for review.

Results:

The main risk factors associated with sedentary lifestyle (according to the Chilean National Health Survey) were: living in an urban area, high income levels, being smoker or ex-smoker, being physically inactive, having a DVD, computer or notebook at home and a motorized vehicle. Physical inactivity was associated with an age ≥ 65 years, hypertension and sedentary lifestyle. There are some common factors such as female sex, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome.

Conclusions:

here are independent factors associated with both sedentary lifestyle and physical inactivity in Chile. Some factors are common for the two unhealthy behaviors such as female gender, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome.