Effects of Reading Health and Appearance Exercise Magazine Articles on Perceptions of Attractiveness and Reasons for Exercise

Melanie Pankratow,Tanya R Berry,Tara-Leigh F Mchugh

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0061894

Melanie Pankratow, Tanya R Berry + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0061894

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Journal: PLoS ONE	Publication Date: Apr 22, 2013
Citations: 31	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Alberta

Abstract

ObjectiveTo examine the effects of reading exercise-related magazine articles (health, appearance, or control) and the moderating effects of exercise self-identity on reasons for exercise and perceptions of attractiveness, among women in first year university. An additional purpose was to use a thought listing technique, the results of which were examined for evidence of internalization of the exercise-related messages.ParticipantsFemale students in their first year of studies between September 2010 and April 2011 (N = 173; mean age = 19.31 years, mean body mass index = 22.01).MethodsParticipants read a health, appearance, or control article, listed thoughts, and completed questionnaires measuring reasons for exercising, physical self-perception, and exercise self-identity.ResultsParticipants in the health condition rated exercise for health significantly higher than control condition participants. Participants with high exercise self-identity rated attractiveness as a reason for exercising significantly higher than low exercise self-identity participants in both the health and appearance conditions. Participants with higher internalization scores (i.e., accepted societal norms of appearance) reported exercising for attractiveness reasons more so than participants with lower internalization scores.ConclusionsThe good news is that health messages may be influential and result in wanting to exercise for health purposes. However, exercising for attractiveness was rated highly by participants with high exercise identity who read either the health or appearance articles. Health and appearance are not necessarily distinct concepts for female undergraduate students and the media may influence cited reasons for exercise.

Highlights

Despite proven health benefits of being active [1], the majority of Canadian adults do not engage in the recommended 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week [2]
A survey of 38, 204 male and female college students showed that 72.3% exercised with the main goal to lose weight, very few were classified as being overweight or obese using body mass index (BMI) standards [9]
Data from three of the participants were removed as outliers due to age (.31 years), and three with BMI .36 [32], five participants did not complete all of the questions, two did not speak English well, one rushed through the experiment, and one had been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Rheumatoid arthritis and was required to exercise

Summary

Introduction

Despite proven health benefits of being active [1], the majority of Canadian adults do not engage in the recommended 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week [2]. Physical activity behaviors are important to study in first-year college and university students because physical activity and exercise behaviors tend to decrease significantly during the transition from high school to the first year of university [3]. This decline, which is greatest in females [4], can lead to health detriments during an individual’s lifetime, as many habits and behaviors that are learned and practiced during the years spent at college tend to extend further into adulthood [5].

Results

Discussion

Conclusion