Exploring Motivation and Barriers to Physical Activity among Active and Inactive Australian Adults

Abstract

Physical inactivity is a major global public health issue associated with a range of chronic disease outcomes. As such, the underlying motivation and barriers to whether or not an individual engages in physical activity is of critical public health importance. This study examines the National Heart Foundation of Australia Heart Week Survey conducted in March 2015. A total of 894 (40% female) Australian adults aged 25–54 years completed the survey, including items relating to motivation and barriers to being physically active. The most frequently selected responses regarding motivation for physical activity among those categorised as active (n = 696) were; to lose or maintain weight (36.6%, 95% CI 33.1–40.3), avoid or manage health condition (17.8%, 95% CI 15.1–20.8), and improve appearance (12.8%, 95% CI 10.5–15.5). Some gender differences were found with a greater proportion of females (43.8%, 95% CI 38.0–49.8) reporting lose or maintain weight as their main motivation for being physically active compared to males (31.9%, 95% CI 27.7–36.6). Among those categorised as inactive (n = 198), lack of time (50.0%, 95% CI 43.0–56.8) was the most frequently reported barrier to physical activity. While empirical studies seek to understand the correlates and determinants of physical activity, it is critical that beliefs and perceptions enabling and prohibiting engagement are identified in order to optimise physical activity promotion in the community.

Carrying out Physical Activity as Part of the Active Forests Programme in England: What Encourages, Supports and Sustains Activity?—A Qualitative Study

“…However, both men and women talked about being motivated to be active for health reasons. This has some similarities with previous research which suggest women's motivations focus more on appearance and physical condition [8,10,37]. However, this research importantly found that the forest environment was seen by some of the women as a space where they are not judged on appearance and where they can feel more comfortable exercising and less self-conscious.…”

Changes in leisure-time physical activity levels and perceived barriers among Estonian adults over a two-year period

“…The most prevalent barriers to physical activity reported by inactive adults were 1) the absence of interest or unwillingness to make an effort, 2) tiredness at work, and 3) lack of time, which are common barriers reported by other studies [7,24,30,52]. However, the proportion of adults reporting these barriers is more than two times higher in the current study than in the study conducted in Poland [30].…”

“…These findings are supported by several national studies comprising the whole population of one country and examining the perceiving barriers to physical activity. In Australia, physically inactive adults reported lack of time (50%), lack of enjoyment (43.9%), and preferring to do other things (42.9%) as the main obstacles to being physically active [24]. Finnish adults also outlined lack of time (55.6% in men; 57.5% in women) as the main barrier, followed by a lack of motivation (25.6% in men; 21.6% in women), lack of company to be active with (15.9% in men; 18.8% in women), and high expenses (9.4% in men; 9.6% in women) [7].…”

Potential psychosocial influences on gender differences in physical activity among Qatari adolescents: a first insight through descriptive observation

“…Despite the finding that daily PA seems to be negatively associated with BWU, a significantly higher proportion of daily active females reported weight unhappiness compared to males. Considering findings from Western countries (De Bruin, Woertman, Bakker, & Oudejans, 2008;Hoare, Stavreski, Jennings, & Kingwell, 2017), this may suggest that body weight regulation through exercise among adolescent females may be a stronger motivating factor for daily activity than for males.…”