Objectives Identify perceived barriers to leisure-time physical activity during pregnancy to
inform future interventions aimed at improving physical activity levels in pregnancy. Design
PubMed/Medline and Web of Science databases were systematically searched using a
reference period between 1986 and January/2016. Methods A comprehensive search
strategy was developed combining the following keywords:(barriers OR constraints OR
perceptions OR attitudes) AND (physical activity OR exercise OR motor activity) AND …

The aim of this study was to synthesize and analyze scientific evidence of the perceived
barriers to leisure-time physical activity (PA) in the Brazilian population. The Lilacs, SciELO,
PubMed, ScienceDirect and Web of Science journal databases were reviewed and the
number of reports of each barrier to PA, grouped according to the level of determinants of
the social ecological model (intrapersonal, interpersonal and environmental) was analyzed.
We found 25 studies (11 in adolescents, 8 in adults and 6 in older adults), totaling 62,678 …