Peer-reviewed article
Barriers and Facilitators of Physical Activity Participation in Adolescent Girls: A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews
Keeva Duffey, Ana Barbosa, Stephen Whiting, Romeu Mendes, Isabel Yordi Aguirre et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This systematic review examined research on why adolescent girls do or do not participate in physical activity. The analysis of eight previous reviews found that lack of support from peers, family and teachers, and lack of time were the main barriers to activity, while weight loss goals and social support were top facilitators. The review recommends addressing gender norms in school curricula, training professionals to be more inclusive, creating safer environments for activity, and involving multiple stakeholders in developing gender-responsive policies.
Key points
- The most frequent barriers to physical activity in adolescent girls were lack of support from peers, family and teachers, and lack of time
- The most reported facilitators were weight loss as motivation and support from peers, family and teachers
- Barriers and facilitators operate at environmental, interpersonal and individual levels
- Key policy actions include inclusive curriculum development addressing gender norms and adequate professional training for inclusion
- Multistakeholder support at local, regional and national levels is essential for gender-responsive approaches to physical activity
Limitations
This is a systematic review of other reviews rather than primary research, so it does not present original data on specific populations or interventions. The review does not evaluate the effectiveness of particular programmes or policies to increase physical activity in adolescent girls.
Abstract
Background: Persistent low physical activity (PA) levels among adolescent girls constitute a public health concern that calls for immediate and evidence-based policy action. This systematic review (SR) aimed to summarize evidence from SRs examining the barriers and facilitators of PA participation in adolescent girls. The objectives were to provide a synthesis of the available evidence and identify key areas for fostering gender-responsive action and policy implications. Methods: A comprehensive search of relevant SR and meta-analyses were performed in PubMed and Cochrane Library, until February 2021. Studies were included if they were SRs or meta-analyses, included adolescent girls aged between 10 and 19 years, and described barriers or facilitators of PA. Two independent authors performed the screening of potentially eligible studies and both assessed the methodological quality of included studies using the AMSTAR 2 tool. The barriers and facilitators were synthesized at environmental, interpersonal, and individual levels. Results: A total of eight SRs were included in the qualitative synthesis. The most frequent barriers identified were the lack of support from peers, family, and teachers, and the lack of time. The most reported facilitators were weight loss, and support from peers, family, and teachers. Key areas for action and policy implementation include an inclusive approach to curriculum development to address gender norms; adequate training of professionals so they have a range of skills to ensure inclusion of adolescent girls; environmental changes in and out of schools to stimulate participation, to allow adolescent girls to be active in a safe and attractive environment; multistakeholder support at local, regional, and national level in incorporating a gender-responsive approach toward PA participation. Conclusion: The results highlight a variety of factors that influences the PA participation of adolescent girls. For the attainment of effective policies that increase PA levels in adolescent girls, it is essential to engage several stakeholders at different levels in incorporating a gender-responsive approach toward PA participation. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO, identifier: CRD42020204023.