Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Sport Sciences for Health https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-019-00609-2 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Physical activity and supervised exercise among hypertensives and normotensives: status and barriers Dulce Esteves 1  · Paulo Duarte 2  · Paulo Pinheiro 2  · Rui Brás 1  · Ricardo Gouveia Rodrigues 2  · Ana Gouveia 3  · Kelly O’Hara 1 Received: 18 July 2019 / Accepted: 14 November 2019 © Springer-Verlag Italia S.r.l., part of Springer Nature 2019 Abstract Purpose Physical activity (PA) is considered central to hypertension prevention and management. The main purpose of this article is to compare supervised exercise (SE) patterns among hypertensive and normotensive Portuguese adults. Methods A total of 966 participants aged between 15 and 90 years old (mean 41.9; SD 19.5) were surveyed face-to-face in public places across Portugal. Participants were considered hypertensives (n = 144) if they have systolic and diastolic blood pressure higher than 160 and 90 mmHg or report taking antihypertensive medication. PA was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Descriptive statistics, Chi-square test for associations and t test for independent samples were used to analyze data. Results Hypertensive individuals show a higher prevalence of sedentary lifestyle than normotensive (31% vs 20%). About 40% of hypertensive patients have a high level of physical activity. Several signifcant diferences were found between hyper- tensives and normotensives regarding the causes for non-participation, information sources and motivation to participate. For infrastructures, only the quality of the equipment (p = 0.032), innovative activities (p = 0.027), and the opportunity to socialize (p = 0.000) are capable of diferentiating the two groups. Conclusions This study shows the prevalence of sedentary behavior among the hypertensive population. Hypertensives and normotensive behavior reveal diferent patterns on the barriers, sources of information, and perception regarding the structures. Service providers seem incapable to make hypertensives aware of the risks associated with PA and the benefts associated with SE. More information is needed to make hypertensives aware of the benefts of SE programs. Keywords Hypertension · Health · Physical activity · Supervised exercise · Program attendance promotion · Promotion · Information sources · Sports health * Paulo Duarte pduarte@ubi.pt Dulce Esteves desteves@ubi.pt Paulo Pinheiro pgp@ubi.pt Rui Brás rmmb@ubi.pt Ricardo Gouveia Rodrigues rjagr@ubi.pt Ana Gouveia agouveia@ubi.pt Kelly O’Hara ohara@ubi.pt 1 Universidade da Beira Interior, Research Center in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development (CIDESD), Rua Marquês d’Ávila e Bolama, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal 2 Research Unit in Business Sciences (NECE), Universidade da Beira Interior, Rua Marquês d’Ávila e Bolama, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal 3 Instituto de Biofísica e Engenharia Biomédica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade da Beira Interior, Universidade de Lisboa, Rua Marquês d’Ávila e Bolama, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal