Exploring physical activity, perceived barriers, and social media influence in Turkish physiotherapy students

Low physical activity (PA) levels and sedentary behavior are major public health concerns. This study assessed PA levels, knowledge of PA guidelines, perceived barriers to exercise, and social media addiction among Turkish physiotherapy students. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 302 undergraduate physiotherapy students in Istanbul, Turkey. Data were collected through paper-based questionnaires and face-to-face interviews using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF), a PA knowledge assessment, the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale (BFAS), and the exercise benefits and barriers scale. Descriptive statistics, the Mann-Whitney U test, the Kruskal-Wallis test, and Spearman correlation were used for analysis. The mean age of participants was 21.1 ± 2.6 years, with a mean BMI of 22.8 ± 4.0 kg/m²; males had significantly higher BMI than females (24.4 vs. 22.1; p < 0.001). Most students were female (69.6%), Turkish (83.9%), and living in private homes (86.1%). The mean total MET rate was 2593 ± 2326 (median = 1386), with 25.8% of students classified as low active, 27.5% moderately active, and 46.7% highly active. Students engaged in vigorous activity 1.1 days/week (71 min/day) and spent 164 min/day sitting. Knowledge of WHO exercise recommendations was poor, with only 5% and 2.3% answering correctly for moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity, respectively. No significant differences in PA intensity were found by sex, academic year, or exercise barriers. A weak but significant positive correlation was observed between social media addiction and perceived exercise barriers (r = 0.206, p < 0.01) whereas no significant association was found between PA levels and social media addiction. Most students had normal BMI and moderate-to-high physical activity levels, but knowledge of recommended exercise guidelines was limited. A weak positive association between social media dependence and perceived exercise barriers was observed, suggesting that excessive social media use may influence engagement in physical activity; however, this relationship warrants further investigation before drawing firm conclusions.