Resumen de The prevalence of barriers for Colombian college students engaging in physical activity

Robinson Ramírez Vélez, María Alejandra Tordecilla Sanders, David Laverde, Juan Gilberto Hernández Novoa, Marcelo Ríos, Rubén Fernando Rubio Henao, Jorge Enrique Correa Bautista, Francisco Javier Martínez Torres

• Objective: To investigate the prevalence of barriers and their association with Colombia college students engaging in PA.

  Methods: A total of 5,663 students (3,348 male) from three cities in Colombia. In fall 2013, students voluntarily completed a demographic questionnaire, Barriers to Being Active Quiz. Logistic regression analysis of each barrier (adjusted for confusion variables: gender, age and BMI) was used for verifying such association.

  Results: The most prevalent barriers in overweight individuals were �fear of injury� (87.0%), �lack of skill� (79.8%) and �lack of resources� (64.3%). The group of females revealed a protective association regarding �lack of time� (OR=0.53: 0.47-0.60 95%CI), �social influence� (OR=0.67: 0.60-0.75 95%CI), �lack of energy� (OR=0.54: 0.49-0.61 95%CI), �lack of willpower� (OR=0.57: 0.51- 0.64 95%CI), �lack of skill� (OR=0.76: 0.66-0.87 95%CI) and �lack of resources� (OR=0.79: 0.71-0.89 95%CI). Such observation also appeared in the 20- to 23-yearold age group concerning �social influence� (OR=0.83: 0.74-0.94 95%CI) and in those aged over 23-years-old (OR=0.86: 0.74-0.99 95%CI) regarding �lack of energy�.

  Conclusion: A significant prevalence was found regarding self-perception of barriers leading to students ceasing to engage in PA.