ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to describe and compare the prevalence of perceived barriers to physical activity (PBPA) in pre- and post-metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) patients and assess the association of these barriers with their physical activity levels. METHODS: A cross-sectional study included pre-operative (n = 63) and post-operative (n = 119) groups. Sociodemographic characteristics, leisure-time physical activity levels, and PBPA data were collected. Descriptive statistics, chi-square, and Fisher's exact tests, and binomial logistic regression analyses were used for comparisons and associations. RESULTS: Compared to the pre-operative group, the post-operative group had a lower prevalence of barriers in the physical domain (p = 0.036) and the behavioral domain (p = 0.004). However, there were no significant differences in the environmental (p = 0.531) or social (p = 0.597) domains. Pre-MBS patients were more likely to be physically inactive when perceiving barriers in the environmental (p = 0.048) and behavioral (p = 0.048) domains. In contrast, post-surgical patients were more likely to be physically inactive when perceiving barriers in the environmental (p = 0.027), social (p = 0.020), and behavioral (p = 0.037) domains. CONCLUSION: The results show that individuals who underwent metabolic and bariatric surgery have a lower prevalence of behavioral and physical PBPA compared to those awaiting the procedure. The perception of barriers to physical activity in the environmental and behavioral domains increases the likelihood of physical inactivity in both pre- and post-MBS patients, while in the social domain, it was only associated with physical activity in post-MBS patients.