Curitiba has taken a further step towards encouraging physical activity. From now on, all the sports halls and sports centers in the city have an alternative to the medical certificate to accept students who wish to register. The PAR-Q questionnaire, created by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology and widely used around the world, is now officially accepted. The mobilization and the bill that gave rise to Law nº 16.017, of June 3, 2022, are from Councilor Marcelo Fachinello (PSC).

The new law modified article 1 of Municipal Law 13.559/2010, which requires, at the time of registration, the presentation of a medical certificate. Now, with the new formulation, PAR-Q is an option for people between the ages of 18 and 60 and non-pregnant women.

The idea, according to the parliamentarian, was to reduce the bureaucracy of the process so that more people would be encouraged to practice physical exercise. At the time of going through the Chamber, the then project had already received the support of the Paranaense Society of Cardiology and the Regional Council of Physical Education (CREF-PR).

“We break down a barrier to access private gyms and public facilities. This law is something important for the democratization of sport, especially considering the part of the population that does not have a plan and has to pay for a medical appointment to obtain a certificate, otherwise it would go to the public system with this demand,” says Fachinello.

The author of the law also underlines that the project does not exclude the medical certificate, it only proposes another alternative. Even for the elderly and pregnant women, this will continue to be necessary. In Brazil, cities like São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Brasília already accept PAR-Q for the same purpose.

How does PAR-Q work?

Acronym for PhysicalActivityReadinessQuestionnaire, the PAR-Q questionnaire was developed by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology and consists of a series of seven questions that assess the medical history of people interested in practicing physical activities in the gym. Questions such as chest pain, loss of consciousness or dizziness, or joint problems that may be aggravated by exercise, for example, should be answered in the document. It is only if all the answers are negative that the candidate will be considered fit, using this document, signed by a qualified health professional, replacing the medical certificate of physical fitness.