Table 3.
Physical Activity Strategies During Initial Weight Loss and Maintenance
| Maintainers | Regainers | Full Sample | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial | Maintenance | Initial | Initial | ||
| (N) or % | (N) or % | (N) or % | p-value* | (N) or % | |
| Exercised (N) | (237) | (209) | (599) | (836) | |
| Did not exercise (N) | (64) | (92) | (210) | (274) | |
| Type of exercise | |||||
| Walking | 76.4 | 79.9 | 72.1 | 0.21 | 73.3 |
| Running/Jogging | 27.4 | 35.9 | 26.2 | 0.72 | 26.6 |
| Aerobic dancing | 38.0 | 38.3 | 42.7 | 0.21 | 41.4 |
| Other dancing | 17.3 | 22.0 | 14.9 | 0.38 | 15.6 |
| Playing sports | 4.6 | 2.4 | 6.7 | 0.27 | 6.1 |
| Swimming | 8.9 | 3.8 | 5.8 | 0.12 | 6.7 |
| Bicycling | 11.4 | 11.0 | 9.5 | 0.42 | 10.1 |
| Spin Class | 3.0 | 8.1 | 3.2 | 0.87 | 3.1 |
| Yoga/Pilates | 9.7 | 18.2 | 7.2 | 0.22 | 7.9 |
| Lifting weights | 32.5 | 48.8 | 25.7 | 0.05 | 27.6 |
| Doing extra house/yard work | 21.9 | 26.8 | 12.5 | < 0.001* | 15.2 |
| Other | 11.0 | 7.8 | 8.9 | 0.34 | 9.5 |
| Where did you exercise? | |||||
| At home | 53.2 | 61.2 | 46.4 | 0.08 | 48.3 |
| At work (walking, exercise) | 21.9 | 19.1 | 18.4 | 0.24 | 19.4 |
| At work (part of my job) | 4.2 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 0.71 | 3.8 |
| At a fitness center/gym | 43.0 | 45.9 | 44.6 | 0.69 | 44.1 |
| At the park (on own) | 35.0 | 34.9 | 31.6 | 0.33 | 32.5 |
| At the park/gym (team sports) | 5.9 | 0.5 | 4.0 | 0.23 | 4.6 |
| Outside in my neighborhood | 23.2 | 26.8 | 19.9 | 0.28 | 20.8 |
| Other | 7.6 | 4.6 | 7.9 | 0.90 | 7.8 |
| Who did you exercise with? | |||||
| No one | 68.5 | 70.3 | 57.1 | 0.002 | 60.3 |
| Exercise Group/Class | 11.9 | 11.5 | 15.2 | 0.22 | 14.3 |
| Friend | 11.1 | 6.7 | 15.2 | 0.12 | 14.0 |
| Family | 5.1 | 8.1 | 6.8 | 0.35 | 6.4 |
| Team | 1.3 | 0.0 | 2.8 | 0.18 | 2.4 |
| Other | 2.1 | 3.4 | 2.8 | 0.56 | 2.6 |
| N | (301) | (301) | (809) | (1,100) | |
Maintainers were asked whether they were currently exercising to maintain their weight. Percentages are for all maintainers who reported they were currently exercising.
* Statistically significant using the Bonferroni correction.
†Chi-square tests for significant differences between Maintainers (initial weight loss) and Regainers. P-values were corrected for multiple comparisons using the Bonferroni method.
Note: Respondents selected all applicable categories so responses do not total to 100 %. Of those who exercised during weight loss, 14 % only exercised and 86 % changed diet and exercise.