Obstacles to Action
In 2003, SPARC (now Sport NZ) and the New Zealand Cancer Society undertook a study of more than 8,000 New Zealanders to find out about motivators and barriers to physical activity, nutrition, community facilities, obesity, and sources of health information.
The results of this study are presented in a number of reports called 'Obstacles to Action: A Study of New Zealanders' Physical Activity and Nutrition'.
Key motivators and barriers
'Obstacles to Action' examined the motivators and barriers to physical activity, to try to understand the 'whys' and 'why nots'. It looked at a number of areas, including the following:
- What are people's attitudes and opinions on physical activity?
- What reasons do people have for being - or not being - physically active?
- What encourages people to be physically active - or discourages them from being physically active?
- What might make people more physically active?
The study found that key barriers include:
- lack of time and/or energy
- lack of encouragement or support from others
- health problems
The study found that key motivators include:
- awareness and belief that physical activity is good for your health
- desire to keep in shape
- encouragement from others, or wanting to model physically active behaviours.