Barriers to physical activity among pharmacy undergraduates at Universiti Malaya, Malaysia: profiles and associated factors from a cross-sectional study

Background Despite its significant implications for student well-being, nationally representative data on physical activity among pharmacy students in Malaysia remain limited. Accordingly, this study aimed to assess the frequency of physical activity and the factors associated with barriers to physical activity among pharmacy undergraduates at Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Methods This cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study utilised the Barriers to Being Active Quiz. All undergraduate students enrolled in the pharmacy programme at the University of Malaya were invited to participate. Differences in barrier scores across demographic groups were evaluated using Mann–Whitney U tests for two-group comparisons and Kruskal–Wallis tests for variables with three or more categories. Binary logistic regression analysis was further performed to identify factors associated with physical activity. A p-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant for all analyses. Results Two hundred and sixty-three pharmacy undergraduates participated in the study, yielding a response rate of 92.2%. More than half of the respondents (56.3%) were physically inactive. Several demographic characteristics, including gender, ethnicity, and residence status, were significantly associated with selected physical activity barrier domains. The most reported barriers were lack of energy, lack of willpower, and lack of time. In binary logistic regression analysis, lack of willpower was the only factor significantly associated with physical inactivity (AOR = 3.816, 95% CI: 1.91–7.64, p = 0.001). Conclusion This study demonstrates a high prevalence of physical inactivity among pharmacy undergraduates in this setting. Lack of willpower emerged as the only factor independently associated with physical inactivity, while lack of energy and lack of time were also commonly reported barriers. These findings suggest that individual-level behavioural constraints may play a more prominent role than environmental factors in shaping physical activity behaviours. They highlight the need for targeted, behaviour-focused strategies to promote physical activity within academically demanding university settings.