Barriers to exercise in younger and older non-exercising adult women: a cross sectional study in London, United Kingdom.

Walid El Ansari,Geoff Lovell

doi:10.3390/ijerph6041443

Abstract

A survey of 100 women in the south of London, United Kingdom (UK) compared exercise barrier intensities between non-exercising younger (20–27 years) and older (28–35 years) adult women; and examined childcare duties as perceived barriers to exercise. Perceived barriers to exercise were examined using an Exercise Benefits/Barriers Scale (EBBS) comprising four subscales (exercise milieu; time expenditure; physical exertion; family discouragement). Participants’ number of children was also noted. Non-exercising older women reported significantly higher total exercise barriers, as well as across three barrier subscales: exercise milieu, time expenditure, and family discouragement. For both age groups, significant correlation existed between number of children and women’s total exercise barrier scores. Number of children explained ≈25% and ≈30% of the variance of younger and older women’s total barrier scores respectively. For both women groups, the strongest correlation between exercise barrier and number of children was for the time expenditure subscale. Broad grouping of 20–35 year old non-exercising women does not reflect a homogenous sample. Age categories employing narrower age brackets are recommended. Issues surrounding family responsibilities e.g. childcare duties may be shared between these groups and require further research and policy attention.

Highlights

Obesity and physical activity (PA) levels are both important concerns for young women
This finding suggests that the broad grouping of 20-35 year old non-exercising women as undertaken in many studies (e.g. [33]) does not reflect a homogenous sample, as the lifestyle challenges faced by women at either end of this age bracket are likely to be different, probably due to career and family responsibilities [25]
Older adult non-exercising women have significantly higher perceived barriers to exercise than their younger adult counterparts

Summary

Introduction

Obesity and physical activity (PA) levels are both important concerns for young women. Reports suggest that by 2010 a third of all UK adults will be obese [7], matching current levels in the USA, where being overweight at age 25 in African-American and white women was associated with early retirement for health reasons [8]. The rate of obesity in women is significantly higher than men, and obesity in females increases with increasing age [2]. This obesity boom, once an urban occurrence, has quickly spread to rural populations [9]

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion