Exploring physical activity engagement in secondary school students in Montevideo, Uruguay: A qualitative study

Physical activity provides multiple health and educational benefits to children and youth, yet the majority of young people across the globe, including adolescents in Uruguay, do not participate in sufficient physical activity. This study aims to further inform intervention efforts for promoting adolescent physical activity in Uruguay by exploring physical activity perceptions and practices as well as physical activity barriers and opportunities in a sample of public and private secondary school students living in and around Montevideo, Uruguay. A total of n=65 secondary school students, ranging in age from 11 to 15 years, participated in 12 focus groups. Despite generally favorable attitudes expressed by participants toward physical activity and identification of common physical activities, findings indicated several barriers for physical activity engagement in this sample of Uruguayan secondary school students -- which often vary by gender and SES, including: lack of access and availability of physical activity opportunities both within and outside of school time, lack of places as well as equipment and infrastructure for engagement in physical activity, and lack of time and competing activities such as video games. Key themes related to the importance of the social context for physical activity- especially for girls, as well as opportunities for physical activity, including the need for more afterschool programming, were also documented. These findings provide further context for understanding adolescent physical activity in Uruguay as well as direction for future intervention efforts.