Socioeconomic inequities and barriers to physical activity in Argentina

Abstract

Physical activity (PA) is recognized as a protective factor for health. Despite the importance that has been given to health differences in recent decades, strong inequities still persist. This article examines the inequities in the levels and barriers to PA in Argentina. This was a cross-sectional study with data from the National Risk Factors Survey of Argentina. We considered six sociodemographic variables from 29,135 adults: sex, age, marital status, educational level, household income, and size of the city of residence. The average age was 46.5 years (+/− 18), 43.0% were male, 19.5% were over 65 years old, 55.6% had completed secondary education, and 43.3% lived in large cities. More than half (64.1%) did not meet the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on PA. The main barrier to PA was lack of time (37.3%), followed by health reasons (24.3%) and lack of will (15.4%). Females, individuals who were married or in a couple relationship, those with incomplete secondary education, those who belonged to the three low-income quintiles, and people over 65 years old were 34% (OR 0.66 95% CI 0.59–0.65), 17% (OR 0.83 95% CI 0.79–0.88), 41% (OR 0.59 95% CI 0.56–0.62), 36% (OR 0.74 95% CI 0.70–0.78), and 51% (OR 0.49 95% CI 0.45–0.53) less likely to comply with WHO guidelines, respectively. To plan public policies to promote PA, it is necessary to consider inequities related to physical inactivity, while understanding the PA patterns according to social determinants.