Likeability and perceived effectiveness of messages designed to encourage physical activity participation among older adults

Abstract

Issue addressed: Older adults are significantly less likely than their younger counterparts to engage in physical activity. Comprehensive policies to support healthy ageing thus need to include components encouraging greater participation in physical activity in later life. This study tested potential messages for use in health communication campaigns aimed at increasing physical activity among older adults. Methods: Twelve written messages designed to encourage older adults to increase their levels of physical activity were rated by Australians aged 60-92 years (n = 369; 54% female) on the variables of likeability and perceived effectiveness.Results: Ratings for all the tested messages were high across both outcome variables. The message Move more,

Testing campaign slogans designed to motivate older people to be more physically active

“…Overall, 'Use it or lose it' appears to be the strongest option, and 'This is your time -enjoy being strong and active' is the weakest. The superior performance of 'Use it or lose it' could be due to a range of factors, including greater familiarity with this term due to its colloquial nature, the elicitation of stronger favourable feelings relative to the other slogans, the attributes of rhyming and brevity that have been found in previous studies to enhance outcomes 9,14 , and the mention of a potentially negative outcome that could serve to emphasise the need to act on the message. 15 The second-highest performing slogan, 'Move more, live longer', had similar attributes in terms of brevity, alliteration, and providing a reason to comply.…”

“…The study context was Australia, where around two-thirds of those aged 65 years and older do not meet the national guideline of at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity on most, but preferably all, days 7 , despite many being aware of the guideline. 8 Building on a prior study that assessed the likeability and perceived effectiveness of a series of 12 campaign slogans developed with a sample of older Australians 9 , the present study tested the top five rated slogans in the context of a video advertisement portraying older people engaging in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). A broad range of advertising outcomes was assessed in the present study, including motivation to increase physical activity, ad perceptions, and elicited feelings.…”