Barriers to physical activity in post-pandemic university students: a Spain-Chile comparative study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v62.109757Keywords:
Student motivation, sociodemographic factors, healthy habits, university environment, confinement impactAbstract
This study, utilizing a quantitative non-experimental approach, examines the perceived barriers to physical activity (PA) among university students in the post-pandemic context, comparing samples from Spain (n=180) and Chile (n=161). Participants completed an online questionnaire collecting sociodemographic, health, PA (IPAQ-SF), and perceived barriers to PA (BBAQ-21) data. The most common barriers were lack of time, energy, and willpower. No significant differences were found in the total number of perceived barriers between the two subgroups, but there were differences in the types of barriers. Among Spanish students, the most prevalent obstacles were lack of willpower, time, and energy, while among Chilean students, the predominant barriers were lack of energy, time, resources, and social influence. Furthermore, variables such as gender, academic year, employment status, socioeconomic level, being under medical treatment, hours of paid work, and the restriction of PA during the COVID-19 lockdown influenced the perception of barriers to PA, albeit differently between the countries . The results highlight the need to develop effective policies and strategies to promote PA, tailored to the context of each university and the cultural and sociodemographic characteristics of its student population. These policies should consider perceived barriers to fostering healthy habits and improving students' quality of life in the post-pandemic context.
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