Physical activity barriers according to social stratification in Europe

Abstract

Objectives To analyse relationships of social stratification on physical activity (PA) prevalence and barriers in the European population. Methods Data were retrieved from Eurobarometer 88.4, a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2017 with 28,031 over 15-year-old inhabitants of the European Union. PA prevalence was calculated along with the probability to be physically inactive by social stratification. Logistic regressions were run in the inactive population to show the social class effect on each barrier adjusted by sociodemographic factors employing a propensity score matched method. Results Low social class presented higher inactivity prevalence (43.11%), whilst the high social class reported the lowest prevalence (23.30%). Also, the low (OR 0.52; 95% CI 0.47-0.58) and middle (OR 0.71; 95% CI 0.64-0.79) social classes were less likely to be active compared to high social class. In the inactive population, the low social class had mostly higher odds to report each barrier. Conclusions Social class is a relevant factor for low PA, with more barriers in the lower social classes. Public health institutions should implement strategies on more influential PA barriers and disadvantaged social groups.

Trends in health behaviors over 20 years: findings from the 1998-2018 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

“…Accordingly, the decrease in the prevalence of aerobic PA seemed to be the result of reduced PA for transportation. Since PA practice is closely linked to personal, socioeconom-ic, and environmental factors, to increase PA, accessibility should be enhanced through providing knowledge, motivating individuals, and establishing an appropriate environment [32][33][34][35]. PA indicators have not improved, even though the importance of PA has been emphasized through the PA Guidelines for Koreans since 2013.…”

Comparative analysis of reported physical activity from leisure centres’ members versus the general population in Spain

“… 52 53 Moreover, a significant proportion of new members report being inactive before enrolling 53 while the cost of the membership fee might be a barrier for some people. 54 Thus, we encourage policymakers and the fitness industry to work together in order to increase the accessibility to these centres to low-income people and to develop effective formulas to reduce the gender and age gaps that exist in PA habits. 10 25 26 Providing PA opportunities according to the gender and age preferences, eliminating sociospatial gendering barriers and applying behaviour change strategies in these centres might work to improve the effectiveness of leisure centres as PA providers and improve access to these places to disadvantaged groups.…”

Perceived barriers to physical activity during the 2nd lockdown in a northeastern state of Brazil

“…In this last option, respondents could describe what the barrier was. To elaborate the this fourth section, we used the instrument used by Moreno-Llamas, Garcı´a-Mayor; Cruz-Sa´nchez to identify the barriers to physical activity in the European population [28]. and the "other" section was based on other national research [29].…”