Resumen de Perceived physical activity barriers among university students: A multinational CART based segmentation analysis

Luis Moral Moreno, Ivonne Vizcarra Bordi, Christophe Tchawo

• español

  Las universidades constituyen entornos estratégicos para promover estilos de vida activos durante una etapa crítica para consolidar conductas saludables. Este estudio examinó las barreras percibidas para la actividad física (AF) en estudiantes universitarios de Chile, España, Italia y México, y exploró patrones asociados mediante árboles de clasificación y regresión (CART). Se realizó un estudio transversal con 686 estudiantes (60,8% mujeres; edad = 22,4 ± 5,1 años). La AF habitual se evaluó mediante el IPAQ-SF y las barreras mediante el BBAQ-21. Los siete dominios se analizaron con una especificación CART común, definiéndose su presencia mediante una puntuación ≥5. Cuatro dominios —falta de tiempo, falta de apoyo social, falta de energía y falta de fuerza de voluntad— mostraron sensibilidad distinta de cero y se incluyeron en el análisis principal. La carga acumulada de barreras difirió significativamente entre países (H(3) = 64,261; p < 0,001; ε² = 0,090), con los valores más elevados en México. Las barreras más prevalentes fueron la falta de energía (39,6%), la falta de tiempo (37,7%) y la falta de fuerza de voluntad (35,6%). Los modelos CART identificaron patrones jerárquicos diferenciados con características conductuales, académicas, socioeconómicas y contextuales, con precisiones del 65,0% al 73,4% y riesgos validados mediante 10 particiones de 0,276 a 0,400. Estos resultados indican que las barreras percibidas son heterogéneas y pueden requerir estrategias sensibles al contexto. CART ofrece un enfoque exploratorio e interpretable para identificar subgrupos asociados a barreras y generar hipótesis para promover la AF en Universidades Promotoras de Salud.

• English

  Universities constitute strategic settings for promoting active lifestyles during a critical period for the consolidation of health-related behaviours. This study examined perceived barriers to physical activity (PA) among university students from Chile, Spain, Italy, and Mexico and explored barrier-associated classification patterns using Classification and Regression Tree (CART) analysis. A cross-sectional study included 686 university students (60.8% women; age = 22.4 ± 5.1 years). Habitual PA was assessed using the IPAQ-SF, and perceived barriers were measured with the BBAQ-21. Seven barrier domains were initially analysed using a common CART specification, with barrier presence defined by a domain score ≥5. Four domains—lack of time, lack of social support, lack of energy, and lack of willpower—showed non-zero sensitivity for the corresponding barrier category and were therefore retained for the primary segmentation analysis. Cumulative barrier burden differed significantly across countries (H(3) = 64.261, p < .001, ε² = .090), with the highest burden in Mexico. Lack of energy (39.6%), lack of time (37.7%), and lack of willpower (35.6%) were the most prevalent barriers. The four retained CART models identified distinct hierarchical classification patterns involving behavioural, academic, socioeconomic, and contextual characteristics, with classification accuracies ranging from 65.0% to 73.4% and 10-fold cross-validated risks from .276 to .400. These findings indicate that perceived PA barriers are heterogeneous and may require context-sensitive rather than uniform intervention strategies. CART provides an interpretable exploratory approach for identifying barrier-associated subgroups and generating hypotheses to inform targeted PA promotion within Health Promoting Universities.