Table 5.
Motivations to exercise in heart failure patients and sex differences in motivations to exercisea
| Motivations to exercise | Total, N=154 | Women, N=49 | Men, N=105 | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total motivation | 1.8 (±1.0) | 2.1 (±2.4) | 1.7 (±2.0) | <0.01 |
| Physical motivation | 1.4 (±1.2) | 1.7 (1.0) | 1.2 (±0.9) | 0.02 |
| I want to be healthier and perhaps live longer | 97 (66%) | 35 (71%) | 56 (53%) | 0.05 |
| I want to develop stamina and feel strong | 62 (42%) | 23 (47%) | 39 (37%) | 0.20 |
| I want to be in good shape and for my clothes to fit better | 57 (39%) | 22 (45%) | 35 (33%) | 0.11 |
| I want to look good | 23 (16%) | 10 (20%) | 13 (12%) | 0.19 |
| Social motivation | 2.2 (±1.0) | 2.5 (±1.0) | 2.1 (±1.0) | 0.04 |
| I want to be as active as my friends and family | 37 (25%) | 25 (31%) | 22 (21%) | 0.18 |
| I want to belong to groups of fit people | 35 (24%) | 12 (25%) | 23 (22%) | 0.61 |
| It is fun to exercise in a group or with other people | 31 (21%) | 14 (29%) | 17 (16%) | 0.05 |
| Everyone else exercises, I want to do that too | 25 (17%) | 6 (12%) | 19 (18%) | 0.39 |
| Psychological motivation | 2.9 (±1.1) | 2.2 (±1.0) | 1.8 (±1.1) | 0.02 |
| I want a slower aging process and feel younger | 84 (57%) | 28 (57%) | 19 (40%) | 0.64 |
| Exercise increases my general feeling of well-being | 64 (44%) | 25 (51%) | 39 (37%) | 0.08 |
| I am proud of myself when I take regular exercise | 58 (39%) | 26 (53%) | 32 (31%) | <0.01 |
| I feel more in control of my life when I exercise | 52 (36%) | 18 (37%) | 34 (32%) | 0.46 |
| I want to feel less physically exposed | 49 (33%) | 20 (41%) | 29 (28%) | 0.10 |
| I feel more successful when I am in good shape | 44 (30%) | 19 (39%) | 25 (24%) | <0.05 |
| People who are fit are admired, I want to be admired too | 19 (13%) | 7 (14%) | 12 (11%) | 0.61 |
Notes: The response alternatives of the Exercise Motivation Index were dichotomized, the response alternatives 0 (not at all important)-2 (important) were combined into no or little motivation, and the response alternatives 3 (very important) and 4 (enormously important) were combined into a motivation.
a
Means and standard deviations were calculated for continuous data, and absolute numbers and percentages were computed for nominal variables.