“When It Fits Wrong, I’m So Self-Conscious I Want to Die!”: Women’s Experiences Wearing Plus-Size Exercise Clothing

Abstract

Women with larger bodies experience a range of psychological, affective, and behavioral factors that may influence their physical activity (PA) experiences. This study explored women’s satisfaction with plus-size exercise apparel, affective experiences related to their bodies and activity, experiences of body surveillance, social physique anxiety, and motivation to avoid PA. A total of 130 women, M_age = 40.46 (SD = 10.55) who engaged in PA at least two days a week and wore US size 14 or larger clothing completed an online survey with items related to exercise clothing satisfaction and affective experiences, body surveillance, social physique anxiety, exercise avoidance motivation, and two open-ended items about how exercise clothing influences their PA engagement and experience. Clothing satisfaction, body surveillance, and social physique anxiety were significant predictors of women’s motivation to avoid exercise. Responses to open-ended items supported the quantitative results and revealed complexities in women’s experiences. Primarily, women perceived a contingent impact of exercise clothing such that when satisfaction is high, women experience greater body confidence and less concerns regarding their appearance; however, when women are dissatisfied with various aspects of their plus-size exercise clothing, they have negative experiences and feel a desire to avoid activity. Clothing may play a role in women’s experiences during exercise and their motivation to avoid exercise.