Adölesanlarda egzersiz yararları ve engelleri algısı: Kesitsel bir çalışma

Background and aim: Physical inactivity is a preventable epidemic in both developed and developing countries. This study aims to examine the factors related to the perception of exercise benefits and barriers among adolescents. Material and methods: The cross-sectional study included 3405 adolescents in 15 public high schools in Ankara, Turkiye. The sample size was calculated using a cluster sampling method. The data collection form consisted of three sections. The first section included the socio-demographic characteristics of participants and the second section contained sedentary lifestyle characteristics of participants. The first two sections were prepared based on the literature by the researcher. The third section of the data collection form included the Exercise Benefits and Barriers Scale which was a valid and reliable instrument for the Turkish population. Spearman’s correlation test, Chi-square test, Mann Whitney U test, and Kruskal Wallis test were used for statistical analysis. Cronbach’s α was calculated to determine the internal reliability of the scale. Results and conclusion: In this study the mean age was 16.54 (1.09) years and 57% (n=1940) of the participants were female. More than half of the participants reported insufficient physical activity (56%) and irregular exercise (62.1%). The total Exercise Benefits and Barriers Scale score was 92.79 (13.22) and Cronbach α was 0.84 for the total of the scale. In this study, some factors such as sex (z=8.870; p=0.001), grade (z=20.37; p=0.001), physical activity (z=12.093; p=0.001), duration of sitting (z=3.555; p=0.001) were associated with perceptions of exercise benefits and barriers. A professional nursing approach can maintain lifelong activity and exercise by improving professional nursing interventions and perceptions of exercise benefits and effectively managing the relevant barriers and risks.