BackgroundIn recent years, there has been a decline in physical activity among adults. Motivation has been shown to be a crucial factor in maintaining physical activity. The purpose of this study was to examine whether motives for participation could accurately discriminate gender, age, and type of physical activity.MethodsA quantitative, cross-sectional descriptive research design was employed. The Physical Activity and Leisure Motivation Scale (PALMS) was used to assess motives for physical activity in 1,360 adults (703 males, 657 females) who had been exercising regularly for at least six months. The PALMS consists of 40 items that constitute eight sub-scales (mastery, enjoyment, psychological condition, physical condition, appearance, others’ expectations, affiliation, competition/ego). Respondents were divided into two age groups (young adults aged 20 to 40 years and middle-aged adults 41 to 64 years) and five types of activity (individual racing sports plus bowls, team sports, racquet sports, martial arts, and exercise).ResultsThe group discriminant function analyses revealed significant canonical functions correctly classifying the cases into gender (82%), age group (83%), team sport players 76%, individual racing sport plus bowls players 91%, racquet sport players 90%, exercisers 84%, and martial art players 91%. The competition/ego, appearance, physical condition, and mastery sub-scales contributed most to gender differences. Five sub-scales (mastery, psychological condition, others’ expectations, affiliation, and enjoyment) contributed most to the discriminant function for age. For type of activity, different sub-scales were the strongest contributors to the discriminant function for each type of PA.ConclusionThe findings in this study suggest that strong and important motives for participation in physical activity are different across type of activity, age, and gender in adults. Understanding the motives that influence physical activity participation is critical for developing interventions to promote higher levels of involvement.

BackgroundMobile technology to promote exercise is effective; however, most evidence is from studies of younger groups in high-income countries. Investigating if short message service (SMS) texting can affect exercise participation in older adults from an upper-middle-income country is important considering the proliferation of mobile phones in developing regions and the increased interest of older adults in using mobile phones.ObjectiveThe main objective was to examine the short- and long-term effects of SMS text messaging on exercise frequency in older adults. Secondary objectives were to investigate how SMS text messages impact study participants’ exercise frequency and the effects of the intervention on secondary outcomes.MethodsThe Malaysian Physical Activity for Health Study (myPAtHS) was a 24-week, 2-arm, parallel randomized controlled trial conducted in urban Malaysia. Participants were recruited via health talks in resident associations and religious facilities. Older Malaysians (aged 55-70 years) who used mobile phones and did not exercise regularly were eligible to participate in the study. Participants randomly allocated to the SMS texting arm received an exercise booklet and 5 weekly SMS text messages over 12 weeks. The content of the SMS text messages was derived from effective behavior change techniques. The non-SMS texting arm participants received only the exercise booklet. Home visits were conducted to collect outcome data: (1) exercise frequency at 12 and 24 weeks, (2) secondary outcome data (exercise self-efficacy, physical activity–related energy expenditure, sitting time, body mass index, grip and leg strength) at baseline and at 12 and 24 weeks. Intention-to-treat procedures were applied for data analysis. Semistructured interviews focusing primarily on the SMS text messages and their impact on exercise frequency were conducted at weeks 12 and 24.ResultsIn total, 43 participants were randomized into the SMS texting arm (n=22) and the non-SMS texting arm (n=21). Study-unrelated injuries forced 4 participants to discontinue after a few weeks (they were not included in any analyses). Overall retention was 86% (37/43). After 12 weeks, SMS texting arm participants exercised significantly more than non-SMS texting arm participants (mean difference 1.21 times, bias-corrected and accelerated bootstrap [BCa] 95% CI 0.18-2.24). Interview analysis revealed that the SMS text messages positively influenced SMS texting arm participants who experienced exercise barriers. They described the SMS text messages as being encouraging, a push, and a reminder. After 24 weeks, there was no significant difference between the research arms (mean difference 0.74, BCa 95% CI –0.30 to 1.76). There were no significant effects for secondary outcomes.ConclusionsThis study provides evidence that SMS text messaging is effective in promoting exercise in older adults from an upper-middle-income country. Although the effects were not maintained when SMS text messaging ceased, the results are promising and warrant more research...

Physical activity is effective in preventing chronic diseases, increasing quality of life and promoting general health in older adults, but most older adults are not sufficiently active to gain those benefits. A novel and economically viable way to promote physical activity in older adults is through non-face-to-face interventions. These are conducted with reduced or no in-person interaction between intervention provider and program participants. The aim of this review was to summarize the scientific literature on non-face-to-face physical activity interventions targeting healthy, community dwelling older adults (≥ 50 years). A systematic search in six databases was conducted by combining multiple key words of the three main search categories “physical activity”, “media” and “older adults”. The search was restricted to English language articles published between 1st January 2000 and 31st May 2013. Reference lists of relevant articles were screened for additional publications. Seventeen articles describing sixteen non-face-to-face physical activity interventions were included in the review. All studies were conducted in developed countries, and eleven were randomized controlled trials. Sample size ranged from 31 to 2503 participants, and 13 studies included 60% or more women. Interventions were most frequently delivered via print materials and phone (n = 11), compared to internet (n = 3) and other media (n = 2). Every intervention was theoretically framed with the Social Cognitive Theory (n = 10) and the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change (n = 6) applied mostly. Individual tailoring was reported in 15 studies. Physical activity levels were self-assessed in all studies. Fourteen studies reported significant increase in physical activity. Eight out of nine studies conducted post-intervention follow-up analysis found that physical activity was maintained over a longer time. In the six studies where intervention dose was assessed the results varied considerably. One study reported that 98% of the sample read the respective intervention newsletters, whereas another study found that only 4% of its participants visited the intervention website more than once. From this review, non-face-to-face physical activity interventions effectively promote physical activity in older adults. Future research should target diverse older adult populations in multiple regions while also exploring the potential of emerging technologies.