Psychological factors influencing exercise adherence among young adult females in Pune city: A pilot study

Abstract

Physical inactivity remains a serious issue in our society, particularly for women. Among individuals who do initiate exercise programs, approximately half drop out during the first six months. Presumably, when individuals feel pressured to exercise, they lack the enjoyment and inner motivation to continue, causing them to discontinue their behavior. In this study ten female participants completed the survey, Participants ranged in age from 20–25 yrs. Adherence was determined based on a calculation of the difference between a participant’s reported exercise goal and her average weekly exercise. The results from the current study partially supported this hypothesis. Compared to adherent women, non-adherent women were more likely to endorse body-related and health-related motives for exercising; however, the results did not indicate that adherent women were more likely to express intrinsic motives for exercising. Overall, the results from this study provide two key messages: 1) that body-related and health related pressures have the potential to detract from women’s abilities to persist towards exercise adherence, and 2) that psychological well-being improves with exercise adherence.