Abstract
AbstractOver the past decade participation in physical activity for adult women has decreased while body size has increased. Overweight and obese individuals are considered the majority demographic in the United States; however, plus-sized clothing sales are minimal in comparison to other segments. Furthermore, there is little known about the clothing practices of obese women who engage in physical activity. The current study addresses this research gap by exploring obese heterosexual women’s clothing practices for exercise, with an emphasis on what women wear, their perceived choices, alternatives, and satisfaction. Lowe and Anspach’s (Home Econ Res J 7(2):121–127, 1978) notion of freedom of dress was the guiding conceptual framework for in-depth interviews with (n = 56) obese women. A majority of the women perceived having limited freedom in dress, and reported crossdressing in men’s clothing to engage in physical activity, which resulted in a perceived lack of gender expression. Crossdressing is wearing clothing of the opposite sex and gender expression is a way in which a person acts to communicate gender within a given culture. Women in this study indicated and the authors discuss that as clothing size increases, perceived freedom in dress decreases. In order to increase freedom in dress, our participants tended to believe it is their personal responsibility to lose weight.
Highlights
Participation in physical activity has dramatically decreased over the past decade, especially among American adult women over the age of 18 (Physical Activity Council Report 2015)
Topics focused on (1) what types of clothing are worn for exercise, (2) whether women feel they have a choice in their clothing, (3) whether they perceive alternative clothing options for exercise, and (4) whether they experience satisfaction with their clothing choices made for exercise
The results presented encompass the experiences of exercise clothing worn by obese heterosexual women
Summary
Participation in physical activity has dramatically decreased over the past decade, especially among American adult women over the age of 18 (Physical Activity Council Report 2015). Consumer reports (Cox 2012) show that over 65 % of women in the US wear plus-size clothing, which is defined as apparel over a US size 14 (Alexander et al 2012). Prior research supports that weight bias is a barrier to physical activity (Ball et al 2000; Vartanian and Shaprow 2008). Having desired clothing for exercise can promote physical activity and help obese women overcome weight bias (Lou Watkins et al 2014). There is a lack of research on exercise clothing, especially with regards to the plus-size market
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