Motives and Barriers to Physical Activity Participation Among University Students

Sami Elmahgoub (), Hassan Mohamed, Adel El Taguri, Tamás Beregi, Aseel Aburub and Pongrác Ács
Additional contact information
Sami Elmahgoub: Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Allied Medical Sciences, Applied Sciences Private University, Amman 11931, Jordan
Hassan Mohamed: Department of Sport Training, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Tripoli, Tripoli 13932, Libya
Adel El Taguri: Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tripoli, Tripoli 13932, Libya
Tamás Beregi: Doctoral School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pécs, H-7621 Pécs, Hungary
Aseel Aburub: Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Allied Medical Sciences, Applied Sciences Private University, Amman 11931, Jordan
Pongrác Ács: Institute of Physiotherapy and Sports Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pécs, H-7621 Pécs, Hungary

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 11, 1-13

Abstract: Background: Physical activity (PA) is essential for the overall physical, mental, and psychological health of university students. However, participation rates remain low, particularly in developing regions such as Libya. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 768 university students who completed self-administered questionnaires assessing PA engagement, motivations, and barriers to participation. Results: The findings revealed that 60.5% of participants were physically inactive, highlighting a significant public health concern. Among inactive participants, the most prevalent external barriers were time constraints (3.45 ± 1.07), limited resources (3.22 ± 0.97), and lack of support (2.96 ± 1.01). values are presented as mean ± standard deviation (SD). The primary motivating factors for PA were health improvement (3.95 ± 0.96) and revitalization (3.93 ± 1.01). Notably, gender differences emerged: male students reported higher motivation for competition and enjoyment, while female students were primarily motivated by weight management. Furthermore, female students reported significantly higher scores for both internal and external barriers than their male counterparts, indicating greater challenges faced in engaging with PA. The study also found a pronounced decrease in PA levels during the college years, suggesting that the transition to university life contributes to reduced activity. Conclusions: This study highlights the critical need for focused strategies to increase student participation in PA and address the identified barriers. Understanding both motivational aspects and barriers is essential for promoting healthier lifestyles among university students in Libya, which could ultimately lead to better health outcomes and fostering a more physically active student community.

Keywords: physical activity; motives; barriers; university students; participation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/11/1646/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/11/1646/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:11:p:1646-:d:1782638

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().