Perception of a barrier to physical activity in physical education students

Abstract

Objective: to identify the perception of students of the physical education course, about the main barriers to the practice of physical activity and its relationship with sociodemographic variables. Methodology: cross-sectional study carried out with 1,369 students (876 male; mean age 24.7 ± 6.5) of the physical education course in two urban centers in Ceará, Brazil. Sociodemographic information, physical activity practice (yes or no) and perceived barriers were collected. The chi-square test was used to associate sociodemographic variables with the main perceived barriers among students who reported not practicing physical activity, adopting p≤0.05. Results: Of the total, 13.4% (182 students) did not practice physical activity. The main perceived barriers to the practice of physical activity were, time dedicated to studies (53.5%), long working hours (49.2%), domestic tasks (38.1%), lack of financial resources (36.0%) and family commitments (33.9%). The main perceived barriers were associated with work, with time devoted to studies (p=0.034) and extended study hours (p=0.001) more prevalent among working students, while the lack of financial resources (p=0.032) and family commitments (p=0.014) for the unemployed. Conclusion: the time dedicated to studies was the main perceived barrier. Among the main barriers, only the domestic task was not associated with work. It was also observed that the main perceived barriers are of a social nature.