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Gender differences in exercise

Gender differences in exercise. Seyram M. Kekessie. Introduction. Running, Jogging, Walking, Weight-lifting, Press-ups…… Do women exercise more than men? Are women under stricter societal constrictions and pressure to exercise than men?

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Gender differences in exercise

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  1. Gender differences in exercise Seyram M. Kekessie

  2. Introduction • Running, Jogging, Walking, Weight-lifting, Press-ups…… • Do women exercise more than men? Are women under stricter societal constrictions and pressure to exercise than men? • What is the principal motivation to exercise for men and women? Gender differences in motivation to exercise might reveal more about gender stereotypes.

  3. Research • Women are more likely to report themselves as exercising more than men if asked who exercises more (Strelan & Hargreaves, 2005). • Women are traditionally viewed as more concerned about their appearance (Thompson, Heinberg, Altabe, & Tantleff-Dunn, 1999).

  4. Research (cont.) • Men are less likely than women to exercise for appearance related reasons (Tiggemann & Williamson, 2000). • Women attempt to meet sociocultural expectations of the thin ideal, through exercise (Strelan & Hargreaves, 2005).

  5. Hypothesis • Women exercise more than men due to society’s unforgiving constrictions on a woman’s appearance than on a man’s.

  6. Methods • Participants originally consisted of 101 Hanover college students, 3 of which were cut due to incomplete responses. This gave a final sample of 98 students, 57 women and 41 men. • Participants were emailed randomly and asked to complete a 10-item questionnaire on the subject of exercise frequency and motivation to exercise.

  7. Self-reported minutes per week t(59.3) = 2.82, p= 0.01

  8. Gender differences in exercise

  9. Results • The hypothesis that women exercise more than men was not supported. Results however support the secondary hypothesis that when they exercise, women do it for appearance related reasons. • Men self-reported exercising more minutes per week than women.

  10. Motivation to exercise • Men and women differed significantly in their motivation to exercise. • Chi-square (1) = 8.14, p = 0.004 • Women were reluctant in reporting that men exercised more probably due to being more insecure about their appearance.

  11. Discussion • Women exercise for appearance related reasons probably because they are constantly objectified and evaluated in the entertainment and advertising media.

  12. Discussion • Men and women may differ in their length of exercise per session because they tend to engage in different types of exercise activities. • Men maybe are more likely than women to engage in social sports activities (e.g., basketball) whereas women tend to engage in “timed” exercises such as treadmill, bike etc.

  13. Future research • Include naturalistic observation to examine gender differences in exercise patterns. This might help explain why men exercise for more minutes per session. • Longitudinal design may also control for in-season – off-season athletic team activity effects on exercise. • Adopt longitudinal design to cut out the effects of short-term exercising (e.g., people who exercise for a few days in a year)

  14. Questions, suggestions, comments? …………………………. Thank you!

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