Physical Activity Correlates in Middle School Adolescents: Perceived Benefits and Barriers and Their Determinants.
Sarah E Roth, Monique Gill, Alec M Chan-Golston and 6 others
PMID 29895181WHAT IT FOUND
Students who perceived high barriers to physical activity were less likely to meet 60-minute, strength-training, and sports-team recommendations.
Girls and students with overweight or obesity reported more barriers. High benefits were associated with daily activity only.
Key findings
01Students with high perceived barriers had lower odds of exercising 60 minutes or more daily, performing muscle strengthening activities, and participating in at least one sports team (OR = 0.57, 0.65, and 0.71).
02Girls had higher odds of perceiving high barriers (1.61 times the odds of males) and lower odds of perceiving high benefits (0.74 times the odds of males).
03Students with high perceived benefits had 1.34 times the odds of exercising 60 minutes or more daily, but no differences were detected for the other physical activity outcomes.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The survey was cross-sectional, so barriers and activity were measured at the same time and cause cannot be inferred. It was done in 16 middle schools in one Los Angeles district, and 68.5% identified as Latino, so it may not apply elsewhere. Physical activity, barriers, benefits, social support, and weight intention were self-reported, so they can be affected by recall and social acceptability. Height and weight were available for 3,859 of 4,773 students, and students with and without these data differed by gender, weight intention, and sports team participation. Only 75.3% of students completed the barriers scale and 88.2% completed the benefits scale, so some analyses used a subset. Physical education teachers collected height and weight, which may have introduced inconsistency. Sensitivity analyses changed some covariate findings, including weight status and trying to lose weight.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that reducing barriers will increase physical activity. The study measured barriers and activity at the same time, so it cannot show cause.