Body weight and perceived social pressure to exercise at a health club.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the social pressure overweight (OW, n=1183) and normal-weight (NW, n=550) adults perceive regarding health club exercise.


METHODS
A 12-item survey, based on the theory of reasoned action and theory of planned behavior, measured subjective norm toward exercising at a health club 30 min, twice a week, for the next month.


RESULTS
OW feel more social pressure to exercise at a club than do NW, but motivation to comply is the same between groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Exercise interventions for OW should capitalize on individual perceived social pressures to exercise by designing strategies to increase motivation to comply with these pressures.
Miller
Wayne C
WC
Department of Exercise Science, School of Public Health and Health Services, George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20052, USA. wmiller@gwu.edu
Miller
Todd A
TA
D000328:Adult; D001835:Body Weight; D003625:Data Collection; D015444:Exercise / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D020446:Fitness Centers; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D012917:Social Adjustment