Barriers to Physical Activity among Full-Time Students: A Case Study during the COVID-19 Pandemic

(1) Background: Physical inactivity is a major public health problem that affects a significant number of adolescents throughout the world. Attaining regular physical activity is a major challenge for adolescents who study full-time. This study aimed to examine the associations between barriers to physical activity, physical activity levels, and time exposed to sedentary behavior during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic among adolescent full-time students at an institute of professional and technical education. (2) Methods: We employed mixed methods in this case study, which enrolled 119 adolescent students (52.9% of whom were female). More specifically, we applied the Barriers to Physical Activity Questionnaire and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and conducted semi-structured interviews. Our statistical analysis was based on Poisson regression with robust variance, and our qualitative analysis was based on content analysis. (3) Results: The adolescents frequently presented with a low level of physical activity (44.4%, n = 52). The following barriers were associated with a low level of physical activity: lack of time (prevalence ratio (PR) 1.546; confidence interval (CI) 1.111-2.151), lack of motivation (PR 1.573; CI 1.102-2.245), preference for other activities (PR 1.521; CI 1.073-2.155), lack of facilities close to home (PR 1.576; CI 1.077-2.307), laziness (PR 1.463; CI 1.031-2.076), and no way of getting to a facility (PR 1.619; CI 1.005-2.606). (4) Conclusions: We observed that physical activity barriers in the psychological, cognitive, emotional, and environmental dimensions were associated with low levels of physical activity. The students reported that full-time study was a barrier to physical activity that contributed negatively to their physical activity levels and time exposed to sedentary behaviors.

Automated summary

This study examined the associations between barriers to physical activity, physical activity levels, and sedentary behavior among full-time adolescent students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings revealed that barriers in psychological, cognitive, emotional, and environmental dimensions were associated with low levels of physical activity.