Older women's personal goals and exercise activity: an 8-year follow-up.
This study investigated the associations of personal goals with exercise activity, as well as the relationships between exercise-related and other personal goals, among older women. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs were used with a sample of 308 women ages 66-79 at baseline. Women who reported exercise-related personal goals were 4 times as likely to report high exercise activity at baseline than those who did not report exercise-related goals. Longitudinal results were parallel. Goals related to cultural activities, as well as to busying oneself around the home, coincided with exercise-related goals, whereas goals related to own and other people's health and independent living lowered the odds of having exercise-related goals. Helping older adults to set realistic exercise-related goals that are compatible with their other life goals may yield an increase in their exercise activity, but this should be evaluated in a controlled trial.
Gerontology Research Center, Dept. of Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
Milla
M
Saajanaho
Anne
A
Viljanen
Sanna
S
Read
Merja
M
Rantakokko
Li-Tang
LT
Tsai
Jaakko
J
Kaprio
Marja
M
Jylhä
Taina
T
Rantanen
D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006040:Goals; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D057566:Self Report