Physical activity, perceived benefits from exercise, and barriers among schoolteachers in Duhok, Irak

Abstract

Introduction: Inadequate physical activity is a contributing factor to various non-communicable diseases. The benefits of regular exercise have been well demonstrated, and evidence shows that adults are becoming more sedentary and obese due to a lack of opportunities and obstacles to exercise participation. Objective: The study aimed to identify physical exercise's perceived benefits and barriers among school teachers. Methods: The exercise benefits and barriers were assessed by conducting a cross-sectional design with 500 school teachers in Duhok City in Kurdistan Region, Iraq. Teachers enrolled using stratified simple random sampling from 15th September 2021 to 1st April 2022. Data on socio-demographic characteristics, perceived benefits and barriers of exercise, and physical activity levels were obtained. Results: The majority of school teachers (65.8%) had a low physical activity level. Exercise improves the appearance of the body as well as a disposition; mental health, cardiovascular functioning system, flexibility, and ability to sleep better at night were the most important exercise perceived benefits. Furthermore, "too few exercise places" was the most significant barrier to exercise, followed by other significant barriers including "inconvenient exercise facility schedules," "fatigue," "too far away from exercise places," "tiredness," "time limitations," "family responsibilities," and "being embarrassed to exercise." There was a significant difference between PA levels and exercise benefit, and the barrier score was p<0.0001.Conclusions: Teachers have high perceptions of the physical and psychological well-being benefits of exercise. However, perceived barriers have a higher impact on exercise habits and are linked to a lack of motivation and self-management to schedule physical exercise.