Factors Associated with Types of Exercise Participation Motivation among Older Adults

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the types of motivations toward physical exercise participation among older adults and to examine relevant factors of subgroup membership. The sample was drawn from the online survey data of 179 older adults (aged 65 or above) who reported participating in regular exercise. Latent Class Analysis (LCA) and multinomial logistic regression were applied. Motivations for physical exercise were measured with six indicators including medical recommendations, fun, weight loss, leisure, keeping fit, and social relationship. Potential factors for latent class membership include sociodemographic factors (age, gender, spouse) and socioeconomic status (education, household income), health (subjective health, life satisfaction), attitudes toward aging, and perceived neighborhood environment. Results of LCA showed that the classifications to three subgroups revealed the optimal fit: ‘fitness-oriented (46.0%)’, ‘fun-seeking (46.0%)’, ‘complex motivations (7.5%)’. The results of multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that attitudes toward aging, gender, education, and perceived neighborhood environment are significantly associated with the latent class membership. This study has significance in that it elucidated the heterogeneity in older adults based on different patterns of exercise motivation. The results of this research can be applied to the field aiming to promote exercise motivation among older adults.