Why do we exercise? what are the main motivations for men and women to take part in physical activity - health & fitness, or body image? i.e. do we exercise for health reasons or is it due to our wish to have a better physical apperence?

-- M. Hughes (m.e.hughes@lineone.net), October 12, 1999

Answers

I'm no expert, but i recently did a survey on this exact topic as part of a presentation for college. the results showed that women are more likely to exercise for purely aesthetic reasons - almost 50/100 chose looking good as their primary reason for exercising. health reasons were typicaly second choice. as they get older [50+] women tended to be more interested in health and also social factors. this usually meant something as simple as walking with a friend ie: companionship.

men , however, seemed more interested in exercise for sport reasons but also health and relaxation. very few said they did it to look good [<10/100 had it in their top 5 reasons!]. again older participants in the survey went for health as a 1st choice.

-- Owen MacEneaney (nipper@ireland.com), March 30, 2000.