Abstract:
Purpose of this study was to analyze various barriers to physical activity and to determine whether extrinsic barriers were more relevant than the intrinsic barriers among young sedentary adults; subjects were college students and community residents (n=77, age = 24.72 +- 7 years); subjects self-disclosed duration and frequency of their weekly physical activity, as well as height and weight. Using a Likert type scale, subjects responded to an instrument with 21 items representing barriers to physical activity. Results showed that lack of will power (98.5%) was the most important barrier. Lack of time (94%), lack of energy (91%),and social influence (86%) were also some of the important barriers cited by the subjects. It was concluded that intrinsic barriers were more important than extrinsic barriers to physical activity in young adults, and no association was found between body mass index (BMI) and barriers to participating in physical activity.
