Influence of the Perception of Barriers in Practice of PA in Adolescents: Explanatory Model.

Iago Portela-Pino,Margarita Pino-Juste,Myriam Alvariñas-Villaverde,Javier Martínez-Torres

doi:10.3390/healthcare9040380

Iago Portela-Pino, Margarita Pino-Juste + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9040380

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Abstract

Background: Sedentarism is an important risk factor for non-communicable diseases. To avoid it, it is necessary to establish the barriers which influence a low level of practice of Physical Activity. Methods: This study, conducted with 833 students, aims to describe a model to explain the barriers determining the level of practice of Physical Activity in adolescents according to age, school year, BMI and gender. The inclusion of the analyzed barriers followed the tetra-factorial model: Body image/physical and social anxiety; Tiredness/laziness; Responsibilities/lack of time and Environment/facilities. Results: The barriers to Physical Activity in adolescents are fatigue and sloth, and temporary obligations. The barrier that least influences the practice of Physical Activity is the environment and body image. It is determined that the subjects with the lowest Physical Activity index were those with a high fatigue and laziness score and higher age. The level of physical activity of this population is medium (95% CI, 2.8274–2.9418). Conclusions: It is necessary to overcome tiredness or apathy towards the practice of Physical Activity, especially in those under 16 years of age.

Highlights

The high indices of obesity suffered by the global population have been verified [1], in developed countries and in those with a lower GDP [2]
It is important to point out that the results show that the values closest to zero are for the variables Environment Barrier and Body Image Barrier, indicating an almost no statistical correlation (Pearson correlation coefficient) with the variable physical activity (PA), and so have very little influence on it
We can conclude that the barriers explaining the level of PA in adolescents are tiredness and laziness and time commitments after 16 years of age

Summary

Introduction

The high indices of obesity suffered by the global population have been verified [1], in developed countries and in those with a lower GDP [2]. It is known that those indicating a higher number of barriers have a lower probability of reaching the weekly optimum levels of PA, and consequentially a higher probability of being inactive [3,4]. Along these lines, Tompkins et al [5] point out that, if parents do not accurately perceive their child’s overweight or obesity status and the potential risk that this situation entails for health, they are usually less inclined to encourage children to adopt healthy behaviors. Conclusions: It is necessary to overcome tiredness or apathy towards the practice of Physical Activity, especially in those under 16 years of age

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Conclusion