Factors predicting barriers to exercise in midlife Australian women

McGuire, Amanda; Seib, Charrlotte; Anderson, Debra

doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2016.02.010

Cited by 33 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…This reflects existing research [12,17], where women's many responsibilities push exercise way down the priority list. This may explain why, unlike previous research [4], older women were more likely to be active -many felt children being older would free up time for walking, suggesting family responsibilities undermine women's autonomy for exercise. That the lower exercise group were more likely to feel having more time would increase engagement supports Segar et al's [17] assertion that this is a question of priority rather than absolute time available.…”

Section: Tablecontrasting

confidence: 58%

“…This is particularly true of Ireland, where an alarming twothirds of adults are insufficiently active [3]. Midlife women are particularly at risk -not only is female participation significantly lower than male [3], but regular exercise declines for many, just when menopauserelated physiological changes increase their risk of weight gain and chronic disease [4]. Recent research suggests their sedentary time is also increasing, compounding their risk [5] -daily leisure-time sitting of over 6 versus less than 3 h has been linked to ∼40% higher all-cause death rate, independent of PA [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, health cognitions are only one factor influencing women's exercise behaviour -past research suggests that barriers can be significant, in particular women's perceived lack of time [12,13]. Other factors include health issues, poor motivation, absent social support [4], and environmental factors such as poor weather, lack of facilities and safety concerns [14,15]. Facilitators, in contrast, include the associated health benefits, greater wellbeing, reduced stress, enjoyment, social support, and accountability to others [12,14,16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Health cognitions mediate physical (in)activity and walking in midlife women

Walsh

Simpson

2020

Maturitas

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This study sought to identify which of the many facilitators and barriers to physical activity (PA) and walking are most significant to changing midlife women's exercise behaviour, with a view to informing future interventions. A cross-sectional survey explored associations of PA and sedentary time with self-reported health value, health locus of control (HLOC) and physical and mental health. Open-ended questions were included to elicit barriers and facilitators to walking. A sample of 295 women, aged 35-55, was recruited via women's groups, social media, online forums, and posters in doctors' surgeries, and completed the survey online. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, t-test, analysis of variance and regression analyses. The low activity levels reported underline the urgency of developing interventions for this population. Results suggest that the key factors associated with higher activity levels are having a more internal HLOC, better mental health and placing greater value on health. While health cognitions may therefore be one important factor to target, these must be tackled in the context of women's other barriers to and facilitators of exercise. Thematic analysis of the openended questions revealed that the key barrier to walking was women's busy lives and their many competing priorities and that the most important facilitators were mental health and social connection. Overall, results suggest that, rather than emphasizing physical health and activity targets, practitioners should seek to make walking more relevant to women by emphasizing mental wellbeing and self-care, and more enjoyable by focusing on social and family-based walking interventions.

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Section: Tablecontrasting

confidence: 58%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Health cognitions mediate physical (in)activity and walking in midlife women

Walsh

Simpson

2020

Maturitas

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“…Nevertheless, increasing women’s exercise levels remains a challenge [ 12 , 13 ]. Common barriers to initiating or increasing exercise include competing time demands, safety concerns, weather, and not having an exercise partner [ 14 , 15 ]. Walking is the preferred type of exercise among menopausal women [ 16 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Walking together: women with the severe symptoms of menopause propose a platform for a walking program; outcome from focus groups

et al. 2020

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Background Menopause and midlife are stages in a woman’s life that can be marked by debilitating symptoms and increasing risks for cancer, cardiovascular, metabolic, and bone health issues. Walking represents a simple, low cost, and widely accessible activity with proven health benefits, though its therapeutic effect on alleviating menopause symptoms is not well characterized. Women are generally not opposed to exercise programs; however, increasing or maintaining exercise levels remains a challenge. We undertook a qualitative descriptive study to explore features of a walking program that would be conductive to menopausal women’s participation, as well as to inform the development of such a program. Methods We conducted focus groups with women recruited from two menopause clinics and who suffered from moderate to severe menopause symptoms. The focus groups were audio recorded and transcribed. Women were prompted to talk about their menopause experience and exercise practice and how they would envision a walking exercise program that would keep them engaged. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data and to identify characteristics of a walking exercise program. Results Twenty women participated in 5 focus groups. Women were very interested in trying walking as a means of staying healthy and possibly reducing menopause symptoms. Four major characteristics emerged as important for a walking program: (a) sensitivity to health realities of menopausal women, (b) inclusivity of various needs/levels of physical ability, (c) attentiveness to the need for mutual social support, (d) flexibility in planning of locations and scheduling. A restricted social network platform with features catering to women in menopause was suggested as suitable to initiate and sustain an adequate walking program. Conclusions The findings of this study will be essential in designing a program that would be attractive for women to start and maintain a walking habit. The program would assist in elucidating whether walking is a useful and valuable alternative therapy for menopausal symptoms and, ultimately, might help women staying fit in midlife and postmenopausal.

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“…Despite this knowledge, Australians consume poor diets, engage in insufficient quantities of exercise, and appear to accept overweight/obesity and disease as a part of daily life. As a result, researchers have attempted to identify why Australians eat poor diets [ 13 ] and choose not to partake in sufficient levels of physical activity and exercise, yielding inconsistent findings [ 13 , 14 ]. Surprisingly, the only research found examining Australians’ perceptions of their own health, known as self-perceptions of health, occurred with data collected in 1981.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lack of Reality: Positive Self-Perceptions of Health in the Presence of Disease

Dalbo

Teramoto

Roberts

et al. 2017

Sports

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The aim of this study was to determine if adults in Central Queensland have accurate self-perceptions of health. Data were collected as part of the 2010 Central Queensland Social Survey (N = 1289). Overweight/obesity is considered a health disorder and was determined using body mass index. Disease states were determined by asking respondents if they have: heart disease, high/low blood pressure, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, thyroid disorder, diabetes, and osteopenia/osteoporosis. Self-perceptions of health were assessed by asking, “Would you say that in general your health is” poor, fair, good, very good, excellent, don’t know, and no response. An accurate health perception occurred if: (1) A respondent with a disease/health disorder reported that their health was poor/fair or (2) A respondent without a disease/health disorder reported that their health was good/very good/excellent. The proportions of people with an accurate health perception by disease/health disorder were compared using a χ2 test. A proportion ratio (PR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated for each disease/health disorder. A logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association between each disease/health disorder and health perception using gender, age, education, physical activity level, and smoking status as covariates. More than 50% of residents with each disease/health disorder reported their health to be good/very good/excellent. Residents with each disease/health disorder were less likely to have an accurate health perception than those without the corresponding disease/health disorder prior to (p < 0.001) and following adjustment of the covariates (p < 0.001). Our results suggest that overweight/obesity and prevalence of disease are not being recognized as unhealthy, which contradicts established definitions of health.

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Factors predicting barriers to exercise in midlife Australian women

Cited by 33 publications

References 21 publications

Health cognitions mediate physical (in)activity and walking in midlife women

Health cognitions mediate physical (in)activity and walking in midlife women

Walking together: women with the severe symptoms of menopause propose a platform for a walking program; outcome from focus groups

Lack of Reality: Positive Self-Perceptions of Health in the Presence of Disease

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