Exercise Preferences Among Emerging Adults: Do Men and Women Want Different Things?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine exercise preferences of college students (CS), and explore potential gender differences to inform interventions. Participants (N=187, 18–25 years) completed an online survey. Descriptive statistics were conducted to characterize preferences for exercise type and mode of delivery, followed by chi-square tests to assess potential gender differences. CS preferred a combination of moderate intensity cardio and strength training. Most CS preferred exercising on their own with guidance from a program. Men preferred intense strength training at higher rates than women (p<.001). Findings can inform tailored recruitment messaging and lifestyle interventions for this high-risk population.

Introduction

College students (CS) experience sharp declines in physical activity and weight gain during the transition from high school to college.¹ Compounding this issue is the college environment which is not conducive to weight management (e.g., access to processed food, limited access to a kitchen).¹ Indeed, CS engage in high consumption of fast food and sugar sweetened beverages, ^2–4 and over half of college students do not meet the American College of Sports Medicine and American Heart Association’s recommendations for physical activity.^5.6 Further, data indicate that over 30% of college students already meet criteria for overweight or obesity,⁷ with additional weight gain often observed during the first year.^8–12 Despite these risks, interventions designed to prevent weight gain among college students have met with limited success—extant evidence reflects null findings for both weight management and physical activity.^13–17 Thus, it is critical to develop programs that promote physical activity among this population to not only prevent further weight gain, but also mitigate the health risks associated with declines in physical activity.

College men in particular are at high risk—they are difficult to enroll in lifestyle interventions, as evidenced by 13–32% enrollment rates, yet data indicate they gain more weight compared with women during these years.^5,15,16,18, Thus, it is important to consider strategies to enhance the program’s appeal. Physical activity might be particularly salient and important to consider, given findings that college men are motivated to lose weight in order to improve physical appearance and fitness.^19,20 Some evidence shows gender differences in college students’ motivations for exercising—specifically, women are motivated to exercise by social pressure, whereas this relationship does not exist among men. However, little is known about gender differences in exercise preferences among college students.^21,22

To guide future intervention work and enhance recruitment messaging, it is important to better understand the specific exercise preferences of college students, and how these preferences might differ between genders. To that end, we conducted a secondary data analysis to inform treatment development for this population.¹⁹ We examined preferences for the type of exercise and the preferred level of guidance when managing weight among college students, and gender differences in preferences for type of exercise and level of guidance for a weight management program. It was expected that college students would prefer self-guided weight management programs, and that men and women would differ in their preferences for exercise, specifically cardio and strength training.

Methods

Procedures

Adults aged 18–25 completed a cross-sectional online survey. Participants were recruited through internet advertisements, e-mail blasts, and flyer advertisements posted on college campuses. Recruitment efforts advertised an online survey regarding eating and physical activity. Participants completed the online questionnaire via a secure website using their personal computers. The survey assessed attitudes toward weight management, including preferences for exercise within the context of a weight control program. Participants received $10 for participation and were enrolled in a raffle to win an iPod. All procedures were reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board.

Measures

Demographics

Participants self-reported age, gender, ethnicity, race, education, and employment / school status.

Body Mass Index (BMI)

Participants self-reported current height (feet and inches) and weight (pounds), which was used to calculate BMI (kg/m²). Participants were then categorized into the following categories based on established criteria: healthy weight (BMI ≤ 25 kg/m²), overweight (BMI 25–29.99 kg/m²), or obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m²).²³

Exercise Preferences

Participants were asked their preferences about type and mode of delivery for exercise. Specifically, participants were asked: “Which of the following exercise programs would you prefer?” and asked to select one of four options: 1) Moderate intensity cardio (e.g., walking, jogging); 2) Strength training (e.g., toning, light weights); 3) Intense strength training (e.g., muscle building); or 4) Combination moderate intensity cardio and strength training. In addition, participants were given two options, when asked: “Which of the following would you prefer?” 1) Exercise at a clinic-based facility with supervision; or 2) Exercise on your own with guidance from a program.

Statistical Analysis

Analyses were conducted using SPSS 24.0. For the purposes of the present analyses, only those participants who reported either full- or part-time status as a college student were included. Descriptive statistics were calculated for demographic variables and to characterize exercise preferences of the sample overall. Chi-square tests were used to examine gender differences in exercise preference and mode of delivery for an exercise program. Two separate chi-square tests were conducted (p<.05) to examine differences in exercise preferences between men and women by BMI status (healthy weight, overweight, obesity).

Results

Participant Characteristics

The majority of the sample (90%) were enrolled in college full-time. Participants were 21.2±2.3 years, and the majority were female (60%), non-Hispanic White (93%), and single (91%). The mean BMI was 25.1±4.7 kg/m², with fairly equal distribution between individuals with a healthy weight (57%) and overweight/obesity (43%).

Exercise Preferences

The majority of participants preferred a combination of moderate intensity cardio and strength training (72.7%). The second most preferred exercise was moderate intensity cardio (12.3%) without strength training. The least preferred types of exercise were strength training (7%) and intense strength training (7.5%). However, analyses revealed these preferences differed by gender (p=.001; see Figure 1). Women preferred a combination of moderate intensity cardio with strength training at a higher rate than men (13.4% vs. 10.7%); whereas, men preferred intense strength training at a higher rate than women (17.3% vs. 0.9%).

FIGURE 1.

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN EXERCISE PREFERENCES BY WEIGHT STATUS

Differences by Weight Status

When examining exercise preferences by weight status (healthy weight vs. overweight vs. obesity), no significant differences were observed (p=.11). A combination of moderate intensity cardio and strength training was the most preferred exercise across all BMI classes (Figure 1).

Gender differences in exercise preferences were further examined by BMI class and a statistically significant difference was found for individuals with a healthy weight (p=.002). Men with a healthy weight preferred intense strength training at a higher rate than women with a healthy weight (100% vs. 0%). Moreover, women with a healthy weight preferred a combination of moderate intensity cardio and strength training at a higher rate than men with a healthy weight (60% vs. 40%). No gender differences in exercise preferences were found for individuals with overweight (p=.10) and obesity (p=.32), respectively.

Preferences for Format of a Weight Control Program

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of participants preferred to exercise on their own with the guidance of a program compared to 28% of participants who preferred exercising at a clinic-based facility with supervision, with no significant differences by gender (p=.40).

Discussion

Findings from this study indicate that college students prefer to exercise on their own with minimal guidance from a program. Past research shows that exercise programs providing supervision and structure, regardless of the type of exercise (i.e., strength training, cardio), can promote weight loss.²⁴ However, given the well-documented challenges in recruiting and promoting physical activity in college students,¹³ coupled with the current findings, offering a structured exercise program might not be feasible with this population. Although evidence shows that using a self-guided approach to promote physical activity can positively impact weight outcomes, the findings are mixed in terms of the positive outcomes related to physical activity interventions on college campuses.¹³ While more research is needed in this area, the findings from this study suggest that self-guided approaches for exercise and weight management might hold promise for intervening with this population, specifically college men. Moreover, this type of approach may address some of the challenges with recruiting college men by making weight management programs more appealing, thus bolstering enrollment rates among this population.

Both men and women preferred a combination of moderate intensity cardio and moderate intensity strength training. Although preferences for strength training were low overall, gender differences were observed which suggest that college men prefer intense strength training compared with women. This pattern held across BMI classifications, though there was slightly higher preference among men with a healthy weight compared with men with overweight/obesity. In contrast, when women preferred strength-based training, they preferred a lower intensity of training. Some of these differences could be attributed to differential goals for strength training—college women aim for competency and confidence, whereas college men aim for strength and improvements in mood.²⁵ Furthermore, recent evidence shows that college women perceive social barriers to strength training (e.g., appearing weak, discomfort around men).^22,26 Overall, research shows that college men’s motivators for engaging in physical activity are to build strength and become physically fit.²⁰ This is consistent with the current findings, and suggests that college men might be more interested in a weight loss program that is framed within the context of building strength and acquiring physical fitness. Future work should examine whether this type of messaging strategy and intervention framing might serve to improve recruitment efforts with hard-to-reach emerging adult men.

Coupled with previous literature, the current findings suggest that emphasizing the role of exercise and fitness might be more appealing to college men than traditional weight loss messages. Further, given the majority of participants preferred exercising on their own with guidance from a program, recruitment messages could include language that specifically advertises a self-guided program, which might bolster the appeal among college men. An additional strategy that might be important to study in future research is the use of targeted health risk messages within recruitment ads. Previous research has shown that health risk messages, specifically messages based in the extended parallel process model, are effective at promoting changes in a multitude of health behaviors; in particular, motivating men to engage in physical activity.^27–30 Thus, anchoring obesity-related recruitment messages to demonstrate how physical activity can help mitigate the risk of weight gain or progression of obesity-related health risks, may help promote initial awareness with men, as well as prompt them to take action in joining a weight management program. Future studies should test whether using these types of targeted health risk messages are effective in improving reach and enrollment of college men within weight management programs.

Strengths and Limitations

This study is not without limitations. Height and weight were self-reported by participants; however, several studies have demonstrated that there is a high correlation between self-reported and directly measured weight.^31–34 Another possible limitation was the use of a self-referred sample, which has the potential for recruiting participants who might be more attuned with weight management. However, this sample was not treatment seeking and participants were recruited and surveyed online to reduce time barriers with this population—therefore, in some respects, the results could be more generalizable to this age group, given the difficulties with recruiting and engaging this population with weight management. Lastly, it is not known if these students were enrolled in 4- or 2-year colleges, which is an important consideration given the risks are higher among 2-year college students.^13,35

A strength of the current study is the heterogeneity of the sample with respect to weight and gender, which allowed for comparisons between men and women, as well as between BMI classes. In fact, nearly half of the sample included college students with overweight and obesity, as such the findings characterize the needs of a population at high risk for weight gain.³⁷ It is important to note that men are fairly represented in this study and have higher rates of representation than weight management programs targeting this population.¹⁹

Conclusion

Findings suggest that within the context of a weight management program, college men and women prefer self-guided exercise that includes a combination of both moderate intensity cardio and moderate intensity strength training. In addition, these results indicate that gender differences in preference towards exercise programs is minimal, but college men do endorse preferences for intense strength training at higher rates than college women. Recruitment messages which underscore self-guided program components and emphasize the role of physical activity and strength training in weight management might be more appealing to college men than traditional weight loss recruitment messages. Future studies should test whether using these messages in recruitment ads can improve enrollment of college men in weight management trials.