The mediating role of healthy living awareness in the relationship between physical activity barriers and athlete burnout

This study examined the relationship between physical activity barriers and athlete burnout, as well as the mediating role of healthy lifestyle awareness in this relationship. The research was conducted with 305 licensed university athletes studying at faculties of sports sciences in Türkiye and actively participating in sports. Data were collected using the Athlete Burnout Scale, the Physical Activity Barriers Scale, and the Healthy Lifestyle Awareness Scale, while structural equation modeling and the bootstrap method were employed in the analyses. The proposed structural model demonstrated an adequate overall fitt (χ 2 /df = 2.021, RMSEA = .058, CFI = .903, and IFI = .904), while the GFI = .863 indicated a marginal fit and was slightly below the conventional threshold of .90. The findings revealed that barriers limiting participation in physical activity significantly increased athlete burnout. The correlation between physical activity barriers and athlete burnout was strong and positive ( r = .70, p < .01). In particular, factors such as lack of time, low motivation, and environmental limitations were found to create psychological pressure on athletes. In addition, a negative relationship was identified between healthy lifestyle awareness and athlete burnout. In other words, as healthy lifestyle awareness increased, athletes’ levels of burnout decreased. The mediation analyses demonstrated that only the “personal transformation” dimension of healthy lifestyle awareness had a significant mediating effect. Specifically, the indirect effect was .099, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of [.021, .244] and p = .007. The total effect of physical activity barriers on athlete burnout was also significant (effect = .789, 95% CI [.709, .854], p = .010). The indirect effects of socialization (effect = .046, 95% CI [− .043, .146], p = .248), responsibility (effect = − .029, 95% CI [− .126, .059], p = .473), and nutrition (effect = .001, 95% CI [− .058, .062], p = .950) were not significant. This result indicates that an individual’s capacity to regulate personal behaviors and develop healthy lifestyle habits may reduce the negative effects of physical activity barriers. Overall, the study suggests that healthy lifestyle awareness functions as an important protective factor in the prevention of athlete burnout.