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.