Barriers to physical activity experienced by low‐income mothers of young children: a pilot study (1021.1)

Abstract

Barriers to Physical Activity Experienced by Low‐Income Mothers of Young Children: A Pilot Study Het Desai, Debra Palmer‐Keenan: Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ.It has been reported that mothers of young children engage in less physical activity than those without dependent children. This issue is likely exaggerated in low‐income communities, due to the increased impact of physical activity barriers. This pilot study sought to examine barriers that mothers, aged 18‐44 with children aged 15 or less, report as well as to identify specific activity barriers, they report affect them to a greater degree than they affect their counterparts without dependent children. The mothers (N=59) were predominantly Black (61%), Hispanic (12%) or White (25%) and approximately 70% had no post‐secondary education. More than 50% of the mothers reported that six out of seven child‐related barriers mothers have previously reported kept them from exercising sometimes, nearly always, or always. These barriers and the percent of mothers who reported their effect to this degree were: needing to pay attention to their child(ren) (75.0%); not having anyone to watch their child(ren) (51.2%); not trusting others to watch their child(ren) (71.2%); interruptions like the phone ringing or the baby crying (63.5%); their child(ren) hanging on them (57.7%); and believing that they get enough exercise caring for their child(ren) (57.7%). In comparison with a demographically similar cohort of women without dependent children, i.e., under high‐school age, four other barriers impacted mothers significantly more. These were: not liking to do it (F=4.45; p<0.05); not motivated to do it (F=11.4; p<0.01); not having time (F=9.33; p<0.01); and (more specifically) chores leaving too little time (F=6.98; p<0.01). Clearly low‐income mothers are a particularly challenged group of individuals who would benefit from targeted assistance and education to achieve adequate levels of activity.