Barriers Are Not the Limiting Factor to Participation in Physical Activity in Canadian Seniors

The identification of barriers to physical activity and exercise has been used for many decades to explain exercise behavior in older adults. Typically health concerns are the number one barrier to participation. Data from CCHS-HA dataset (N = 20, 875) were used to generate a sample of Canadians, 60+ years, who did not identify a health condition limitation, illness, or injury as a barrier to participation in physical activity (n = 4,900) making this dataset unique in terms of the study of barriers to participation. While the vast majority of older adults participated in physical activity, 9.4% did not. The relationships between nonparticipation, barriers, self-reported health status, and chronic health conditions were determined using binary logistic regression. The main findings suggest that traditional barriers and self-reported health status are not responsible for nonparticipation. Nonparticipation was best predicted by chronic health conditions suggesting a disconnect between self-reported health status and underlying health conditions. The data are clear in suggesting that barriers are not the limiting factor and physical activity programming must be focused on meeting the health needs of our aging population.