Determinants of an intention to exercise of an electric power commission's employees

The aim of the present study was to identify the psychosocial factors explaining an employee population's intention to exercise. The subjects were 444 employees of an electric power commission. All subjects completed a questionnaire investigating psychosocial variables borrowed from the theories of Fishbein and Ajzen, Triandis, and Ajzen. Employee's intention to exercise during the next six months was explained by habit (β=0.444, p<0.0001), perceived barriers (β =−0.281, p<0.0001), and attitude (β =0.207, p<0.0001). The proportion of variance explained by these variables was 41.4% (p<0.0001). These results are similar to those reported in studies conducted among different sub-groups of the general population. This would seem to suggest that the promotion of regular exercise or habitual physical activity at the worksite should be guided by the same principles which are applied to the promotion of habitual exercise in the general population.