Most teenagers are confronted with barriers to routine participation in physical activity. The barriers are likely to be personal, social, or environmental, and staying active becomes an ordeal with the consciousness of benefits of exercise everyday. Nevertheless, awareness of barriers and observing right precautions will help teenagers to have long-term habits of exercising.

Exercise is practically absent in the lives of most teenagers nowadays due to the school, homework, extracurricular activities, and a part-time job. Rather, exercise takes the backseat under the burden of academic stresses, allowing for long periods of inactivity.

Solution: Incorporating activity into lifestyle will eliminate this barrier completely. Such activities include walking to school, cycling to school, using the stairs instead of stairs, or simple at-home quick exercises, and poof-the problem just goes away! Kinetic study hours or exercise-based study patterns for the home-goers can also facilitate easy studying and health synergy between home and school.

Some teenagers regard exercises as being boring or stupid, and hence they discourage them. If any activity is not an enjoyable task to perform, then exercise is just a duty.

Solution: Motivation lies in finding an activity during exercise which one enjoys. Participating in a sport, dancing, martial arts, or adventure-fitness makes exercise fun. Active Teens combines activities such as beach volleyball, footy, and gym workouts so that something or the other interests everyone.

Availability of sporting clubs, parks, or gyms is extremely poor in certain areas for access by all adolescents. The likelihood of theft, high fees, or transport cost may discourage them even more.

Solution: School boards and councils could do a great deal in the way of providing community programs at no or minimal cost, available public park facilities for everyone 13 years and older, and school physical education. Programs like Active Teens enable one to stay physically active by arranging activities at public parks, school locations, and recreation centers so that any teenager can lead an active life.

Peer pressure, body image issues, and the fear of being judged by others can deter others from exercise. There are others who are ashamed of how fit they look or afraid to be less than good at team sports.

Solution: A constructive and supportive environment allows teens to be more comfortable to share. Praise from coaches, family, and friends can actually increase motivation and confidence. Programs like Active Teens offer a welcoming environment where effort, not competition, is what success is about and all fitness levels are encouraged.

Growing usage of social media, gaming, and streaming has resulted in more sedentary life and thus it's easy for kids to be stuck to screens for many hours instead of engaging in activity.

Solution: Reducing recreational screen time and replacing it with active recreation is one solution to battle this issue. Teachers and parents can promote outdoor play without technology, active gaming substitutes (e.g., virtual reality exercise games), and social sporting activities to make movement appealing.

More information about screen time is given on the Physical Activity Guidlines page.