Development and validation of the Barriers to Physical Activity and Sport Questionnaire for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning persons.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to develop the Barriers to Physical Activity and Sport Questionnaire for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning (BPASQ-LGBTQ+ [encompassing all spectrums of sexuality and gender]) persons (LGBT), which measures barriers using a socio-ecological model, and to validate it through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. STUDY DESIGN: Validation study. METHODS: First, content validity was achieved by (a) developing a bank of items, (b) discussing the adequacy of the items in a committee of experts and classifying the selected ones under three socio-ecological levels (intrapersonal, interpersonal, environmental) and (c) refining wording and relevance of the items after a pilot test. Second, 709 LGBTQ+ persons completed the questionnaire online to establish construct validity, criterion validity and internal consistency. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis revealed four underlying factors in the BPASQ-LGBTQ+, thus suggesting that the items initially considered as 'environmental barriers' could be constituting two separate factors based on social interactions or organizational aspects. Competing three- and four-factor models were tested using confirmatory factor analysis. The four-factor structure with two different factors accounting for environmental barriers obtained better values in all fit indices. Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.745 to 0.813. Participants engaging in regular physical activity and sports reported lower scores in all the barriers subscales than their counterparts. CONCLUSION: The BPASQ-LGBTQ+ is valid and reliable to measure barriers to physical activity and sports in LGBTQ+ people across the different socio-ecological levels. It could be especially useful for understanding the complex relationships between these barriers, which is of great relevance for the design and implementation of interventions addressed to encourage physically active lifestyles among LGBTQ+ people.

Physical activity of university students with disabilities: accomplishment of recommendations and differences by age, sex, disability and weight status.

OBJECTIVES: This article aims to study physical activity and the achievement of World Health Organization physical activity recommendations in university students with disabilities, and to examine differences by sex, age, disability characteristics and weight status. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional data from a wider research project conducted at the Spanish universities from Autumn 2016 to Autumn 2017 were analysed. METHODS: The International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form was administered to 1103 Spanish university students with different disabilities. Nonparametric tests were performed to examine the differences in physical activity based on the interest variables. RESULTS: The mean metabolic equivalent (MET)-minutes/week was 1772.75 (±2161.00) for total physical activity, 642.93 (±1303.08) for vigorous physical activity, 344.31 (±699.53) for moderate physical activity and 785.50 (±1053.31) for walking intensity physical activity. Overall, 72.2% of the participants did not meet the recommendation of 75 min/week of vigorous physical activity, 80.3% did not meet the recommendation of 150 min/week of moderate physical activity and 63.1% did not meet any of these recommendations. Nonparametric tests revealed that students with multiple disabilities, chronic illnesses, acquired disabilities, older students, obese students and women were less active than their counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: A high number of participants did not meet the World Health Organization physical activity recommendations, and some subgroups were especially inactive. Public health policies should implement interventions to encourage people with disabilities to engage in physical activity, paying extra attention to the most inactive subgroups.