Abstract
BackgroundAbout half of women decrease their regular exercise during middle age. Concurrently, they experience a reduction in basal metabolic rate and loss of lean muscle as they transition to menopause. The combined effects place these women at increased risk for body weight gain and associated co-morbidities. Further research is required to better assess their barriers to regular exercise and to develop more applied knowledge aimed to improve the applicability of clinical interventions aimed at this population. The main aim of this study was to identify enablers and barriers influencing adherence to regular exercise in middle-aged women who exercise.MethodsAn interpretive description qualitative study was conducted using individual interviews. The two key questions were focused on planning to engage in physical activity and succeeding or planning to engage in physical activity and not succeeding. Inductive content analysis was used.ResultsFifty-three women interviewed were aged 40–62 years and experiencing mild to moderate menopausal symptoms. Six broad themes influencing adhering to regular exercise were: routine, intrinsic motivation, biophysical issues, psychosocial commitments, environmental factors, and resources. Common sub-themes were identified as enabling factors: daily structure that incorporated physical activity (broad theme routine), anticipated positive feelings associated with physical activity (intrinsic), and accountability to others (psychosocial). Other common sub-themes identified as barriers were disruptions in daily structure (routine), competing demands (routine) and self-sacrifice (psychosocial).ConclusionsThe most common barrier middle-aged women describe as interfering with adhering to regular exercise was attributable to the demands of this life stage at home and with others. Lack of time and menopausal symptoms were not identified as the common barriers. To support women to adhere to regular exercise, healthcare professionals should consider a narrative approach to assessing barriers and focus on enablers to overcoming identified barriers.
Highlights
About half of women decrease their regular exercise during middle age
Characteristics of participants Of 60 women interviewed between June 2010 and December 2011 in the larger study, 53 indicated that they participated in regular physical activity on an average week, 5 do not participate in regular physical activity, and 2 were excluded due to inadequate interview recordings
Factors enabling women’s participation in regular exercise The most cited factors enabling adherence to their regular exercise were: an established daily structure that incorporated exercise, anticipated positive feelings associated with exercise, and accountability to others
Summary
About half of women decrease their regular exercise during middle age They experience a reduction in basal metabolic rate and loss of lean muscle as they transition to menopause. Women experience a reduction in basal metabolic rate and loss of lean muscle as they transition to menopause [4]; thereby increasing their risk for body weight gain and Interventions to prevent or reduce weight gain include regular exercise combined with healthy eating [6,7]. Lack of time is further attributed to multiple responsibilities and roles of women within their households and at work [10] These barriers are known to discourage the decision to engage in regular exercise, little is known about what factors interfere with middle-aged women adhering to a regular exercise program once they have decided to do so. There are systematic reviews of adherence to dietary interventions for individuals with chronic illnesses, adherence to medications, and adherence to group exercise to prevent falls in older adults [12,13,14], there is no known review of adherence to regular exercise among middle aged women
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