Barriers to Physical Activity

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Introduction

Many technological advances and conveniences that have made our lives easier and less active, many personal variables, including physiological, behavioural, and psychological factors, may affect our plans to become more physically active. Understanding common barriers to physical activity and
creating strategies to overcome them may help make physical activity part of daily life.

People experience a variety of personal and environmental barriers to engaging in regular
physical activity.

Personal Barriers

With technological advances and conveniences, people’s lives have in many ways become increasingly easier, as well as less active. In addition, people have many personal reasons or explanations for being inactive. The 10 most common reasons adults don't adopt more physically active lifestyles are cited as:

• ƒ insufficient time to exercise
• ƒ inconvenience of exercise
• ƒ lack of self-motivation
• ƒ non-enjoyment of exercise
• ƒ boredom with exercise
• ƒ lack of confidence in their ability to be physically active (low self-efficacy)
• ƒ fear of being injured or having been injured recently
• ƒ lack of self-management skills, such as the ability to set personal goals, monitor
• progress, or reward progress toward such goals
• ƒ lack of encouragement, support, or companionship from family and friends
• ƒ non-availability of parks, sidewalks, bicycle trails, or safe and pleasant walking
• paths close to home or the workplace

The top three barriers to engaging in physical activity across the adult lifespan are

• ƒ time
• ƒ energy
• ƒ motivation

Other barriers include

• ƒ cost
• ƒ facilities
• ƒ illness or injury
• ƒ transportation
•  partner issues
• ƒ skill
• ƒ safety considerations
• ƒ child care
• ƒ uneasiness with change
• ƒ unsuitable programs

ƒEnvironmental barriers

The environment in which we live has a great influence on our level of physical activity. Many factors in our environment affect us. Obvious factors include the accessibility of walking paths, cycling trails, and recreation facilities. Factors such as traffic, availability of public transportation, crime, and pollution may also have an effect. Other environmental factors include our social environment, such as support from family and friends, and community spirit. It is possible to make changes in our environment through campaigns to support active transportation, legislation for safer communities, and the creation of new recreation facilities.

References

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