Exercise in older women: Motives for participation

The reasons why older women exercise were investigated in a sample of 218 participants (mean age = 67.5 years). The women, recruited from community-organised exercise programs, completed a 25-item version of the Participation Motivation Questionnaire adapted for use with older Australians. The reasons for exercising rated as most important by the sample related to maintaining or improving fitness and enjoying the activity and liking the company. The motives that were reported as least influential related to wanting to be noticed, to be popular, and to feel important. Analysis of the data revealed five factors. When the sample was categorised into young-old (50-64 years, n = 84), mid-old (65-74 years, n = 89), and old-old (75+ years, n = 45), discriminant function analysis showed that the oldest women placed significantly more importance on social/activity motives and less on personal fulfilment motives than did the younger groups. The present findings have potential value in designing strategies to encourage older Australian women to exercise.