Barriers to Exercise Participation

Even though we live in a society where there is a large focus on sport, only a third of the UK population exercise regularly, meeting the government recommended guideline amount (The Guardian, 2012).  If you started to ask people why they don’t exercise often the list of answers you’d receive would be endless.  However, there are some common barriers to participation which can be overcome. Reversely, there are certain groups of the population who are more likely to exercise and whom may have specific reasons for doing so.

Barriers

The most common reason that people don’t exercise is because they feel they don’t have the time (which is determined by a number of factors, e.g. work and children).  The reality, however, is that most people do have time to do 30 minutes of exercise a day they simply perceive that they don’t.  They also have a lack of motivation and energy, which is quite common in a society where there high demands on the working population.  People who cite these reasons for not participating are often using them as more of an ‘excuse’ (this isn’t always the case), and it isn’t their priority to exercise.  For example, when someone finishes work they may like to watch TV to relax, but many would argue having time to watch TV means you do have spare time, but watching TV is more important to them than going to the gym.

There are many other factors such as cost, accessibility (transport) and location of facilities which determine whether people participate.  Trends show that people who live in more affluent areas and have a higher disposable income exercise more regularly than those who don’t (Scotland.gov.uk, 2006).  Even though the cost of exercise can be high (e.g. private health clubs) and facilities may not accessible to you, exercise doesn’t have to cost anything, for example walking the dog.  Another reason is having health problems or being physically unable to exercise.  On the other hand, exercising is often a benefit to many health conditions.  Having health problems may be coupled with lack of self-confidence or feeling uncomfortable when put into a sporting situation with others.  This is often the case for people who are overweight or have been inactive for a long time and feel too embarrassed to start exercising. 

Another barrier to participation for many is social exclusion.  This could be influenced by a person’s age, religion, gender, disability or socio-economic status.  For example, for Islamic women it would go against their beliefs to swim unless it was a group session specifically for them with female lifeguards (these sessions do exist).  Even though people aged 16-25 generally have a high rate of participation, women in these age group don’t.  There could be various reasons for this, childcare being one of them.  People aged over 75 also tend to exercise less than the independent population, especially compared to the other group of financially dependent (under 16) who find exercise enjoyable and widely available at grass roots level. 

Even though all of these factors do hinder participation, there is a large focus on making sport socially inclusive.  Many classes and groups are made available which target these groups specifically, for example, chairobics for the elderly, ladies only gyms and swims, and mother and baby groups for people aged 16-25, and leisure centres with crèches.

Most of these barriers to participation can be eradicated, and a lot is being done to help people overcome barriers, but there are still many which must be dealt with by the individual – i.e. those who ‘don’t have the time’.  It’s important to stress the benefits of exercising, especially on the health.  Exercise helps to control weight, can help reduce the risk and symptoms of illnesses (e.g. diabetes), improved mental health and a longer life expectancy.  Sporting clubs and groups are also a great place to meet people similar to you, helping build your self-confidence. 

Bibliography

Gill, A. (2012) Unit 018 Exercise Behaviour and Adherence [Presentation] Sport Psychology, HND Sport Coaching, Chesterfield College, December.

References

Boseley, S. The Guardian 18 July 2012 UK has third most inactive population in Europe [online] Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/jul/18/uk-inactive-population-europe [Accessed 29th December 2012]

The Scottish Government (2006) Chapter Two Overview of Participation and Attitudes [online] Available from: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/09/29134901/3 [Accessed 30th December 2012]