Most Australians are unable to practice healthy physical and mental activities mainly because of the fact that they have got more comfortable with playing video games and watching TV. As such, they have given physical exercise a back seat. So this state of affairs leads to the question; what are the barriers to physical activities and how can they be overcome by the affected population?
Introduction
Physical activity is vital requirement if an individual wants to achieve a healthy lifestyle and also proper mental wellbeing. Exercise is a very important and vital part of growth and it is applicable to all age brackets, gender and various states and levels of healthy wellbeing. As such exercise is something that should be incorporated to an individual’s way of life. Currently there are barriers that prevent the realization of proper work out regimes by individuals that need to be addressed. On top of that, suggestions as to how exercise can be promoted and improved should be brought forward.
According to Shor et. al, participation in physical activities is a great and essential way to reduce some of the multiple risk factors that are associated with health problems. Some of these health problems include severe mental illnesses (SMIs) (Shor, 2016). Some of the sufferers of the SMIs are the people who are significantly less active as compared to other people. In order to develop knowledge about some of the barriers to physical exercise and also some of the benefits associated with physical exercise, Shor and the group of group of researchers picked a study sample of 86 mentally unstable people (Shor, 2016). These people were subjected to various physical activities. A scale that had been designed to measure the participant’s perceptions of the barriers to and benefits of involvement was used. Revelations of the findings showed that accessibility barriers hindered participation in physical activities (Shor 2016).
The APPLE project conducted by Williden et al. (2016), was an investigation of the barriers as well as promoters and contributors to healthy eating and physical activity in New Zealand amongst children who were aged between the age of 5 to 12 years. Semi structured interviews were conducted with different community stakeholders and the information gathered was then used to administer a telephone based questionnaire to one hundred and one parents of children in the age bracket in the intervention communities. Socio-cultural influences came out very strongly in which about 70% of the parents reported that it is like their children preferred computers and TV over sports and games. These parents did not bother trying to endear their children to sports or any form of physical activity; instead they let them continue watching TV and playing video games. Only about 40% of the parents reported to being active with their children in terms of sport (Williden et al.,2006).
Ying-Ying Goh et. al in the year 2009 used a community based participatory research that was aimed towards identifying some of the potential interventions that would help overcome barriers to adolescent’s healthy physical activity and eating patterns. Interviews were conducted on 14 adolescent groups, 28 community members (who were mainly experts in physical wellbeing, dietitians, doctors and personal trainers) and 8 parent focus groups. The interviews were aimed at proposing interventions that would help address adolescent obesity (Ying-Ying, 2009). One evident theme was the parents’ and adolescents’ views and perceptions on physical exercise which was very negative. They overlooked the importance of exercise and assumed that healthy eating was enough to prevent obesity. As much as healthy eating is a good way to keep healthy, it is supposed to go hand in hand with physical exercise (Ying-Ying 2009). Through the two, an individual is able to maximize on the advantages of both eating the right the right foods and also undergoing the right exercising regime to keep fit (Stevenson 2007).
The above studies all tackled the issue of lack of exercise but none of them directly took on the barriers and provided clear suggestions to tackle and overcome these challenges. They all revolve around the lack of exercise but they miss out on the point when it comes to explaining why there is lack of exercise and propose ways to change that. This study will be aimed at looking at these two pertinent issues that will aim to provide a solution to the situation at hand that is substitution of exercise by watching TV and playing video games.
Methods
The study was conducted amongst 3 participants who were not exercise enthusiasts and did not take part in any form of physical exercising activity. The study population included two males and one female who were in their early twenties and attended college or university. Questionnaires were used for collection of information from the participants. These questions consisted of a total of fourteen items which were divided into three sections. The first section included four structured questions which were multiple choice questions and the participants were restricted to only a few choices (mainly two). This would assist in obtaining accurate answers that were relevant to the study.
The second part included five semi-structured questions that had the multiple choices but also had spaces provided to supply any additional information or clarifications that the participant felt were important for the study. Some questions were also open ended without any choices to choose from and they required the respondent to come up with his/her own answer. This section also gave the participants the option of not answering the questions in conformity to the choices and instead move to coming with his/her own answer to the question that multiple choices provided. The third part made use of the Likert scale. The participant was asked to express his/her views or mostly feelings towards a particular thing on rate of 1 to 5. 1 was that he or she was least pleased with it while 5 was that he or she was very pleased with it. This allowed for their emotions and feelings towards a particular concept to be recorded more accurately.
All the participants were allowed two days with the questionnaire sheets to complete them. They were also informed about the importance of them completing the questionnaires and following all the instructions. They were also sensitized on the importance of answering the questions with outmost honesty and genuinely. Constant reminders concerning the completion of the questionnaires was done through sending of text messages after intervals of six hours to remind the participants to complete the questionnaires before the deadline was reached.
At the end of the period given for the questionnaires to be successfully completed, all the participants had successfully completed their questionnaires and submitted them. Only one questionnaire had the issue of a missing name but since all the three participants were known it was easy to discern who the questionnaire belonged to and the information was filled out on behalf of the participant.
Results
Results from the study clearly indicated that the participants did not take part in any form of exercise. Furthermore, their attitudes to exercising were not those of people who considered they would one day need to exercise. The main reason they all stated as to not exercising was lack of sufficient training facilities. They also mentioned the insufficiency when it came to personal fitness trainers as another reason why they were not exercise enthusiasts. The female participant also mentioned the issue of low esteem as she was not comfortable with her body and was thus not comfortable working out around other people. As such she preferred sitting at home and watching TV as this way she felt less conscious about the state of her body.
Another participant also mentioned that he believed that healthy eating was all that he considered important to keeping himself healthy. According to him, healthy eating prevented the accumulation of unnecessary calories in one’s body. As such those who needed exercise were the people who did not maintain a strictly healthy diet. He therefore did not see the reason why he should exercise and he was not about to change his lifestyle to accommodate exercising as he referred to it as a waste of time and was only a compensation move by the people who had earlier not looked into what they ate. Discussion
They also needed to be educated that physical activity does not only include going to the gym and undertaking some of the activities that take place in the gyms such as weight lifting and cardio. Simple activities that did not require a personal trainer such as jogging, light exercises around the house and also playing various sports were also another way to keep fit through physical activity. As such, there is not a single excuse that can be given to cater for the fact that one is not exercising (Shepherd, 2006). Lack of equipment and presence of a personal trainer is not an excuse because there are so many activities that can be done as ways of taking part in physical activity without the need to make use of the above stated resources.
Conclusion
Exercise is a very important part of human beings’ wellbeing both physically and also mentally. It allows the body cells to regenerate and replace the old and worn out cells with new ones. Physical activity and work out also helps in building immunity in one’s body system. The mental awareness brought about by exercise also goes a long way in increasing the general wellbeing of an individual as one is able to become more alert (Hughes, 2004).
All these benefits are exactly what the people who do not exercise miss out on. They leave their bodies fragile and highly susceptible to disease and injury. This is because their immunity is weak and also their muscles and bones have not undergone proper formation as they have not been subjected to any pressure (Hughes, 2004). Such individuals are encouraged to take up exercise and try as much as possible to spend less time on television and video games and instead spend more time working out and building their bodies. The fruits and advantages may not be immediately noticeable but in the long term, they really go a long way in helping the individual. Physical exercise is a phenomenon that cannot be left out when mentioning some of the ways and methods of keeping fit and ensuring one’s health is at its best (Hughes, 2004).
Bibliography
Shor R., and Shalev A., 2016. Barriers to involvement in physical activities of persons with mental illness. Health Promot Int. 2016. Retrieved 2014 Sep 8. Pg 45. Print
Ying-Ying G., 2009. Using community based participatory research to identify potential interventions to overcome barriers to adolescents healthy eating and physical activity. Journal of behavioral medicine. Volume 32. Issue 5. Pg 491-502. Print
Hughes G. and Bennet K., 2004. Old and alone: Barriers to healthy living and exercise for men living on their own. Print
Shepherd J., Harden A., and Rees R., 2006. Young people and healthy eating: review of research on barriers and facilitators. Print
Stevenson G. and Doherty G., 2007. Adolescents’ views of food and healthy living: barriers to healthy living amongst our young ones. Issue 3. Print
Williden M, and Taylor R., 2006. The APPLE project: barriers and contributors to healthy living of children aged between 5-12 in New Zealand. Pg 135-148. Print
Appendices
Sample of the questionnaire administered.
Age:
Level of education:
SECTION A
How often do you exercise?
Regularly
Once in a while
Never
Do you enjoy exercising?
Yes
No
Between playing a football game yourself and playing it on a video game, which one would you prefer?
Myself
On a video game
Would you give up your game console for a ball?
Yes
No
SECTION B
Should exercise be made mandatory in learning institutions? Why?
Yes
No
Why don’t you love exercise?
If better conditions were provided, would you exercise more?
Between exercise and television, which one is more useful? Why?
Television
Exercise
Why do many people not exercise?
SECTION C
How much do you love TV and video games?
How much do love exercise?
How fun is it to do exercise every once in a while?
How much do you support that video games are of little gain to the society?
People need more time outdoors and less time away from a TV screen?
