ABSTRACT
A questionnaire was completed by 393 working women to examine incentives and barriers to physical activity based on the stages of change from the transtheoretical model. Using Chi Square tests, differences were found across the five stages suggesting that work site programs be designed and tailored for women at different stages of readiness.
Subject(s)
Exercise , Health Promotion , Women's Health , Women, Working , Adult , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Minnesota , Surveys and Questionnaires , WorkplaceABSTRACT
Despite the general trend toward increased participation of women in sports and physical activity across the lifespan, the future of women in sports is not clear. Whereas many women have benefited from the passage of Title IX and increased opportunities for competition, a large percentage have had no instruction in sports either in school or at home. Working women report they can find little time for themselves and that physical activity or exercise is hard to fit into an already overextended schedule. Single working mothers and women at the lower end of the economic scale are doubly disadvantaged. There is a widespread belief, promulgated by the press, that physical activity enriches one's life, but a great percentage of women plan to start "tomorrow." At the same time, women's concerns about their health encourages them to ask more questions that can aid in decisions to make good lifestyle choices. Combining the desire women express for healthy lifestyles with the knowledge of the positive features of physical activity should help health professionals and educators encourage more widespread participation in lifelong sports.
Subject(s)
Sports/history , Women/history , Exercise , Female , History, 19th Century , History, 20th Century , Humans , Physical Education and Training/history , United States , Women's Health , Women's Rights/historyABSTRACT
The medical concerns of women runners focus not only on injury but also on how their activity affects their overall health. This article discusses lifestyle and nutritional patterns, menstrual change in active women, amenorrhea and decreased bone density, and issues related to pregnancy. Research data as well as recommendations for the clinician are included.
Subject(s)
Running , Women , Amenorrhea/etiology , Athletic Injuries/etiology , Back , Bone and Bones/anatomy & histology , Female , Fertilization , Humans , Life Style , Menstruation , Nutritional Physiological Phenomena , Oligomenorrhea/etiology , Pain/etiology , Physical Exertion , Postpartum Period , PregnancyABSTRACT
Does exercise-induced amenorrhea lead to osteoporosis? Existing studies are difficult to compare because of differing methods and subjects.
