A descriptive cross sectional study comparing barriers and determinants of physical activity of Sri Lankan middle aged and older adults

Abstract

Background Benefits of physical activities are numerous. Barriers for physical exercise may differ among middle aged and older adults. Therefore, identifying and comparing the barriers for participating in regular physical exercises among middle aged and older adults will be useful in designing age specific physical exercise programmes. Methods This descriptive cross sectional study was carried out among 206 Sri Lankan adults in the age range of 40-84 years in the Colombo North region of Sri Lanka using culturally validated questionnaires to determine and compare the barriers and factors associated with regular physical activity participation. Majority were males (56%) and 54% were < 60 years. People in the age range of 40-59 years were considered as middle age and � 60 years as older adults. Bivariate analysis and multivariate analysis was carried out to determine the significant factors that are associated with regular physical activity participation. Results Lack of free time (52%), feeling too lazy (26%) and bad weather (29%) were the main barriers for the participants. In < 60 years, high level of income (p = 0.008) and in � 60 years, being a male (p = 0.016), having a high level of education (P = 0.002) and a high BMI (p = 0.002) had a significant negative association with the level of physical activities. Conclusions Contrary to findings from surveys in several developed countries, this study showed that having a high level of education and being a male were strongly related with lack of physical activity participation.

Physical inactivity, and its association with hypertension among employees in the district of Colombo

“…The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was developed in Geneva in 1998 [ 13 , 14 ]. This is a widely used questionnaire in assessing physical activity in adults [ 16 , 17 ]. Two IPAQ versions are available (a long version and a short version), and both versions are available in self-administered or interviewer-administered forms.…”

Modeling the participation in physical exercises by university academic community in Sri Lanka

“…However, Fern andez-Mart ınez et al (2020) confirm the reverse, arguing that women are more physically active, and their tendency of exercising in fitness centers is relatively higher in developed countries. Further, adverse health status is found to be negatively associated with exercising due to risk of injury, less self-efficacy and social support (Medagama and Galgomuwa, 2018;Karunanayake et al, 2020). The similar trend is uncovered with regard to individuals with health insurance policies (Birdee et al, 2013).…”

“…The results might be different in less developed countries where the conditions required to enhance social capital are more limited (Bornstein et al, 2012), and extensive databases are not frequently available (Medagama and Galgomuwa, 2018). In Sri Lankan context, Medagama and Galgomuwa (2018) and Karunanayake et al (2020)…”

Perceived social and built environment associations of leisure-time physical activity among adults in Sri Lanka

“…In contrast to Western cultures where LTPA has been increasing [ 23 ], social acceptance for LTPA is normally low in South Asian countries where people count regular household chores, caring of children and manual labour as physical exercise [ 24 – 26 ]. As a result, LTPA has not been seen as a requirement in South Asian communities and a majority do not feel motivated to be active during their leisure [ 27 ]. This belief may be related to socio-cultural background in South Asia [ 2 ], or may relate to lack of knowledge about the benefits of LTPA [ 19 , 26 ].…”

“…Strong family, societal, and religious ties observed among the Sri Lankans may be the reason for the requirement of social acceptance to involve in LTPA, which otherwise may be considered as culturally inappropriate behaviour. Thus, LTPA promotion efforts in Sri Lanka should focus on gaining social acceptance for LTPA, which would mitigate social barriers such as feeling embarrassed of being seen by others while exercising in public places [ 26 , 27 ], wearing specific garments while performing exercise [ 28 ] and judged negatively by others at recreational places [ 19 ].…”