Perceived Exercise Barriers Explain Exercise Participation in Australian Women Treated for Breast Cancer Better Than Perceived Exercise Benefits

Objectives. This study aimed to determine the effect of perceived exercise benefits and barriers on exercise levels among women who have been treated for breast cancer and have not participated in a formal exercise intervention. Design. This was an anonymous, national, online cross-sectional survey study. Methods. Four hundred thirty-two women treated for breast cancer completed an online survey covering their treatment and demographic background, current exercise levels, and perceived exercise benefits and barriers. Each perceived benefit and barrier was considered in a binary logistic regression against reported exercise levels to ascertain significant relationships and associative values (odds ratio [OR]). Results. Agreement with 16 out of 19 exercise barriers was significantly related to being more likely to report insufficient exercise levels, whereas agreement with 6 out of 15 exercise benefits was significantly related to being less likely to report insuffi-cient levels of exercise. Feeling too weak, lacking self-discipline, and not making exercise a priority were the barriers with the largest association to insufficient exercise levels (OR10.97, 95 % confidence interval [CI]3.90, 30.86; OR8.12