Women's attitudes towards obstacles of physical activity in Sari, Iran

Background and Purpose: Physical activity may be classified as intense, moderate, and low. Despite their health-related benefits, Iranian women have a low rate of physical activity. Women face numerous obstacles and challenges for participating in physical activity programs, most notably are household chores and taking caring of children, long distance between home and workplace and the other places, lack of access to appropriate facilities, lack of support by others to play their social roles. The present study aims to assess attitudes women have about the obstacles of physical activity among the female population of Sari.
Methods: In this study, 680 women referring to healthcare centers of Sari were evaluated. A 16-item questionnaire was designed to determine the personal, social and facility access obstacles. Data was codified and analyzed on SPSS software version 16. We used descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and Chi-square test to summarize the data and study the relationship between the variables. P-values < 0.05 were considered significant.
Results: In this study, most women were 18-29 years old and housewives. The body mass index was 25-29 for 31.9% of the cases and 30 or higher for 32.9%. The most frequently reported obstacles for physical activity were long distance between house and the other places such as workplace and marketplace (55.6%), menses (52.1%), fatigue caused by routine activities (49%), having several responsibilities at home (45.1%), and shortage of sport facilities nearby their residency as well as shortage of an appropriate space for physical activity (38.8%). We observed significant relationships between the obstacles of physical activity and its different types.
Conclusion: Numerous obstacles prevent women from prioritizing and participating in physical activity. Interventional measures aim to improve physical activity in women that should address the obstacles.