Abstract
(1) Background: Obesity could deepen women’s susceptibility to COVID-19 infections and deaths. While physical activity has the potential to improve women’s physical and psychological resilience to the pandemic, there is a dearth of research on factors that motivate women’s participation in physical activity. Thus, to bridge the research gap, this study aims to identify factors that motivate women’s participation in physical activity. (2) Methods: An online survey on motivations for physical activity was developed and distributed to the participants. A total of 108 women offered complete answers (N = 108, 18–33 years old, Mage = 20.34 ± 2.42 years). Participants selected factors that promote their physical activity from a list of 34 factors from the Reasons to Participate in Physical Activity Scale (RPPAS) developed in this study. (3) Results: Exploratory factor analysis revealed that factors that motivate women’s participation in physical activity are: enjoyment and gratification, consideration for other activities (i.e., exergaming), health benefits, networking opportunities, and appearance and performance. Multiple linear regression analyses indicate that only consideration for appearance and performance was significantly associated with participants’ physical activity levels after controlling for compounding factors. (4) Conclusions: The findings of this study underscore the importance of appearance and performance in shaping women’s participation in physical activity. Furthermore, the results also emphasize the need for a nuanced understanding of factors that influence women’s physical activity levels. Future research could investigate how to leverage these motivators in tailored health interventions that aim to improve women’s physical activity.
Highlights
IntroductionWhile the health of women shapes the wellbeing of humanity, women shoulder a wide array of health challenges that could substantially compromise their abilities to care for themselves and contribute to society [2]
Researchers found that the pandemic exacerbated the deep-rooted health disparities women face before the pandemic, it introduced new challenges women need to shoulder, ranging from pronounced financial insecurity, an unprecedented surge of domestic violence, to health issues that are unique to women [10,11,12]
Obesity and lack of physical activity are compromising women’s abilities to care for themselves and their loved ones, as well as their capabilities to contribute to society
Summary
While the health of women shapes the wellbeing of humanity, women shoulder a wide array of health challenges that could substantially compromise their abilities to care for themselves and contribute to society [2]. For instance: Research shows that while 25% of cancers diagnosed in men are overweight- and obesityrelated cancers, the prevalence of these cancers among women is 55% [8]. In an analysis of 502,493 people (54% women), researchers found that a higher body mass index (BMI) is linked with greater risks of COVID-19 deaths in women than men [9]. Researchers found that the pandemic exacerbated the deep-rooted health disparities women face before the pandemic (e.g., limited access to healthcare services), it introduced new challenges women need to shoulder, ranging from pronounced financial insecurity, an unprecedented surge of domestic violence, to health issues that are unique to women [10,11,12]
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