ways of encouraging people's general health and fitness essay

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Essay on Health and Fitness

List of essays on health and fitness, essay on health and fitness – short essay for children (essay 1 – 200 words), essay on health and fitness – how to be healthy and fit (essay 2 – 250 words), essay on health and fitness (essay 3 – 300 words), essay on health and fitness – for school students (class 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10) (essay 4 – 400 words), essay on health and fitness (essay 5 – 500 words), essay on health and fitness – for college students (essay 6 – 600 words), essay on health and fitness – how to maintain a good health and fitness (essay 7 – 750 words), essay on health and fitness – long essay for university students (essay 8 – 1000 words).

Health and fitness are two concepts that go hand in hand. Our health is the totality of our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. Fitness, on the other hand, is a state of control over our body. Thus, we could be physical, mentally and emotionally fit. Consequently, health and fitness can be regarded as a way to attaining control over our body.

Audience: The below given essays are exclusively written for children, school students (Class 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 Standard) and college students.

Introduction:

Health and fitness are a very important aspect of life that includes having both physically and mentally fit body. With the help of a balanced diet and regular exercise a person can improve his or her health and fitness.

Relationship between Health and Fitness:

A good health means that a person is physically and mentally strong and fitness refers to the ability of the person to encounter the demands of the environment. The person possessing good health and fitness can enjoy his/her life completely.

How to Maintain Health and Fitness:

The following are the ways that can help in maintaining health and fitness:

1. Doing the daily exercise for at least 30 minutes.

2. Eating balanced and healthy food in limited quantity and at the right time.

3. Adequate sleeping and waking up early in the morning.

Benefits of Health and Fitness:

Below are the benefits of health and fitness for a person:

1. Reduces the risk of diseases like diabetes, obesity, etc.

2. Helps in healing the injuries quickly.

3. Increases the lifespan of the person.

4. Decreases stress and anxiety.

Conclusion:

With daily exercise and proper diet, a person can achieve good health and fitness. It not only makes the person happy but also makes him/her free of stress and worries.

Health and fitness is the real wealth a person should acquire to lead a peaceful and harmonious life. A person without both, may face many difficulties and find their real money spend on their health issues rapidly.

How to be Healthy and Fit?

Health and fitness are not only about physical appearance or muscle, but it is also about being internally, mentally and emotionally fit that will largely influence your day to day life. In earlier days people like our grandparents have kept good care of their health and fitness through healthy food and by leading a better lifestyle.

The recent generation was more ignorant of their health and fitness, but the situation has changed a lot recently. Better awareness about the importance of health and fitness has made everyone seriously working on this problem and find ways to stay healthier.

The basic step towards fitness is by keeping yourself calm and relaxed. This will help you in being both mentally and bodily fit to some extent. Exercises and other forms of workouts like dancing, yoga, etc., are the best ways to keep yourself fit and these practices will also, in turn, help you to be calm and composed.

Health and fitness play in your life a major role in keeping you and the people around you happy as well as healthy. Avoid those bad habits that will not only ruin your body and mind but also influence badly on the others around you, both mentally and physically. Health and fitness can be maintained through regular workouts, healthier food, and other healthier habits.

People often take the terms health and fitness as one and they do not think too much about the difference that is present in them. The thing is they can be treated as one but in some situations, they can exclude each other. Health and fitness represent the two most desirable features of every person’s life. The great thing about this fact is that you can create such a life for yourself.

The Difference:

Health and fitness represent the two most important aspects of our lives and this is especially true when you are a student and you need to advance through your studies and early career. Health is usually considered as the total physical wellbeing of the organism and its ability to fight off infections and disease. Fitness represents the bodies physical strength and overall ability to sustain physical exertion.

The Importance:

When we consider how important health and fitness are for the effectiveness of our endeavors it becomes clear why so many people have an obsession with them. This is why I consider that it is important for every person to have a personal health and fitness routine that they can implement in their daily lives. Regardless of what we do in life such a routine can do us good and create habits that we can practice to sustain an optimal level of productivity.

The only thing one should remember is that too much fitness can cause problems for your health, so balance is key. Otherwise having a health and fitness routine can only be good for you and all the endeavors you want to make in your career or personal life. Today’s world is all about health and fitness so every person has all the necessary tools they could ever need to make the best combination of diet and exercise for themselves.

Health and fitness are one of the most important aspect of life. Without these, the life will be very unhappy and dreadful. An unhealthy person will not be able to enjoy their life to full extent. We are all so busy in our lives that we start neglecting our health. This starts to affect our lives negatively and can lead to some severe problems.

What is meant by health and fitness?

Health of a person is defined as state of being free from any illness and injury. Along with the physical condition, it also includes the mental and social well-being of the person. Fitness is the condition of being physically fit and healthy so that the person is able to tackle the demands of the surrounding environment.

Importance of Health and Fitness:

For a successful, happy and peaceful life, health and fitness are very important. If a person is healthy and fit, he/she can live the life to its fullest extent. Health and fitness just does not mean physically but also mentally and healthy fit. There are many benefits of maintaining health and fitness of the body, like it lowers the risk of diseases like heart attack, high BP, obesity, and stroke; increases longevity of life, reduces stress, provides better quality of life and many others.

How to maintain health and fitness?

There are many ways to maintain your health and fitness. Certain activities should be followed daily like regular physical exercise. It can be a simple activity as climbing stairs instead of taking lift or elevator, walking more rather than taking car to go to different places. It is important to eat proper and clean food at the right time. The food should also be rich in nutrition such as high in fibre, low in fat, high protein content and have more vitamins. Proper sleeping pattern is also important to maintain health and fitness.

For any of these activities, it is important to be self-motivated. The fitness activities should be a part of your daily routine. All this will not only maintain your health and fitness but also improve your lifestyle.

It is important to maintain health and fitness of not just our physical self but our mental self as well, to have a happy and fulfilled life. The maintenance of these should be taught to children at a young age so that they are used to doing certain activities and are motivated to continue doing them as they grow up.

Obesity, depressions, diabetes are some of the adverse effects of neglecting our physical or mental health and fitness. These conditions can lead to serious health challenges and in some extreme cases death. To reduce the risk of these we must keep fit at all times. We shall now examine the physical and mental dynamics of keeping fit mentally and physically.

Physical Health and Fitness:

Physical health and fitness refer to all form of positive steps we take to keep our body in good shape. Hence, it would include physical exercise and maintaining a healthy diet. It also involves constant medical checks to eliminate the risk of certain ailments.

The importance of constant exercise to our physical health and fitness cannot be overemphasized. Physical exercises ensure that our metabolic system is in great shape. Our metabolic system determines how much fat is stored in our body and the rate at which our body processes fat. Consequently, when we engage in physical exercise we store less fat in our body which is good for our overall health.

Another major factor that affects our physical health and fitness is eating healthy. While some food is great for our health, others can lead to damaging effects. Also, taking meals in the right property is a big part of keeping fit. Finally, though there might be conflicting information about what a good diet is, it is important to always eat in moderation.

Some of the benefits of physical health and fitness are as follows:

1. It helps you keep your cholesterol low.

2. It reduces blood pressure.

3. It increases the heart function and reduces the risk of heart-related conditions.

4. It improves our immune system such that we fall sick less often.

5. Increase in strength of muscles and bones.

Mental and Psychological Health and Fitness:

A lot of attention is usually given to physical health and fitness while neglecting our mental wellbeing. However, keeping our mind the same and our health sane is just as important as treating our body the same. Mental strain can affect our productivity and mood. It could also lead to serious health challenges such as depression and other mental illness.

To attain mental health and fitness we must keep our brain engaged with positive activities.

Some of these activities are as follows:

1. Reading intellectual materials that stimulate brain function.

2. Engaging in constant meditation to keep our mind focused.

3. Getting enough sleep on a daily basis.

4. Engaging less in tasks that can cause mental strain.

Health and fitness encompass every area of our life including the way we treat our environment. Consequently, we must always keep fit to have a fulfilling life, therefore, there is a saying – health is wealth.

Health and fitness are two separate words that are related because they influence each other. Health is defined as the state of wellbeing in which a person is free from illness and injury. Fitness is the state of being healthy and physically fit. Health is influenced by fitness and fitness is influenced by health. The trends in health and fitness are continuous and people strive to achieve both in their lives. Health and fitness continues to undergo transformation in the changing times especially with the influence of technology. It is important to be healthy and fit because of the benefits enjoyed.

How to be Healthy and Fit :

Health and fitness is a process that requires proper understanding. Health and fitness is something that someone has to have a purpose and stick to it in order to be successful at it. It is a challenge to remain health and fit because of the commitment it requires and the work that has to be done. Accepting the challenge is the first step into health and fitness. It is also important to find a partner with whom you can exercise with. It is something you can do with your spouse or a colleague at work just for the motivation. A workout schedule has to be formulated together with a dietary schedule.

Healthy foods should be a balanced diet but with less amounts of calories. However, calories should not be undertaken because exercise requires burning of calories for energy. Staying healthy and fit means that you have to eat well and exercise well and a schedule is important because it keeps you on track. It is also important to set goals like losing a certain amount of weight so that the goal will motivate you in remaining healthy and fit.

Health and fitness is of great significance in the lives of individuals. It helps in preventing lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. Physical fitness involves the burning of unnecessary fat in our bodies which helps to reduce the cholesterol in our blood. Having less cholesterol in the body reduces the chances of developing high blood pressure. Also, when exercising, we use up the calories in our bodies and therefore blood glucose is maintained at normal levels and thus reduces the chances of developing diabetes.

It is also important to remain healthy and fit in order to maintain normal body weight. The food we eat and activities we do influence our body weight. Being inactive and consuming unhealthy foods such as fast food could result in serious weight issues like obesity. Obesity is having a body mass index that is greater than 30. It has been associated with many chronic illnesses such as heart diseases and diabetes. In order to remain within normal body weight, health and fitness has to be prioritized.

Safety and self-defense is influenced by health and fitness. Being physically fit means that you are able to run and you are strong enough to defend yourself. Knowing how to fight is not an aspect of health and fitness. The ability to run fast is considered safe because you can always escape danger. Being unfit is disadvantageous in situations of danger because you will experience difficulty.

Health and fitness is definitely important in the lives of individuals. Schools emphasize on health and fitness because by training young children on health and fitness, it positively influences their lives. Health and fitness does not necessarily mean hitting the gym every now and then but it is about the simple exercises and the food we eat.

Health and fitness when properly maintained goes a long way in helping a person remain in a general state of well-being and health. Health and fitness can provide us with the ability to be able to perform activities that are physical without being restless or tired. If we want to maintain a very good health and fitness, we have to engage in physical exercise regularly and eat balanced diets. It is very important that we maintain our health and fitness so that we can stay healthy, fit, without fear of different diseases and also get all of the numerous benefits that come along with a healthy living.

A person that has good and proper health and fitness gets to live and enjoy his/her very well to the possible best. It is very necessary that every one of us in life lives a life of mental and physical fitness so that we can enjoy a life that is happy and healthy.

When we are fit and healthy, the probability of us falling ill and experiencing various medical conditions drops. When we talk about medical fitness, a lot of people assume it is just physical fitness but it is a lot more than that, overall fitness means we have to be fit both mentally and physically. We can only achieve a state of good mental fitness if we become physically fit.

If we want to remain very fit and healthy, the best way we can do that is through relieving our mind of all forms of stress through eating a balanced diet and regular exercise. If we maintain a weight that is ideal, we tend to be less prone to a lot of health conditions including cardiac problems. When we remain active physically, our mind is always relaxed. Fit and healthy people tend to face and overcome all the various problems life brings their way easily without suffering.

How one can maintain a Good Health and Fitness:

Today, there a lot of ways through which we can stay fit and healthy if we decide to abide by them.

Some of them include:

1. We should do our best to involve ourselves regularly in physical exercises every day by taking a little time out of our very hectic schedule. If we decide to take about 30 minutes or 60 minutes every day to exercise about five to six times in a week. We should be able to get enough exercise that would be ideal for us to stay fit.

2. Eating clean and healthy food in the proper quantity and in the appropriate time is quite important if we want to stay fit and healthy. The best way to attain good health is by a healthy nutrition that contains low fat, high fibre, very rich sources of minerals and vitamins, and high protein.

3. If we want to stay healthy and fit, we have to observe a very good sleep habit and pattern. It is very important that we keep a very high level of discipline in all of our routine daily and also try to focus on getting and maintain a sleeping pattern that commences and stops at the proper time. It is advised that we get about eight hours of sleep every night as this can help in boosting the immune system. Getting good hours of sleep can also go a long way in helping us prevent cardiovascular diseases and also goes a long way in improving the mood. We do not get enough sleep, we are very likely to suffer from a variety of mental disorders and sleep disorders.

Importance of Good Health and Fitness:

1. Reduces stress, anxiety level and depression.

2. It helps in improving the quality of one’s life.

3. It goes a long way in getting to live a little longer.

4. It helps in the healing of injuries quickly.

5. It can also help us increase our level of confidence.

6. It goes a long way to help us feel a lot better both mentally and physically.

7. It helps us in decreasing the risk of getting diseases like breast cancer, stroke, obesity, heart diseases and diabetes.

Routine exercise and physical activities on a regular basis is quite necessary for everybody irrespective of their ages but most especially the younger generation (children). Health and fitness can help us accomplish a lot of happiness in this life. Health and fitness can also go a long way in helping us live a live that is free of disease and stress.

Health and fitness help a person live a good and healthy life. Often due to various pressures at personal and professional level, we tend to ignore our health. This makes our body suffer and we catch up with lifestyle and other diseases. It is the fitness level of our body which helps us fight these diseases. If we are fit we are able to overcome these diseases or else we end up being victims of a modern lifestyle.

Definition and Relation:

Health and fitness are interrelated to each other. We need to be fit to have a healthy body. Similarly, if we are healthy we shall naturally be attracted towards maintaining the fitness of our body. Health is the state of our body at a given time. We may not have any disease but still, have a weak body which is ready to be targeted by a number of bacteria and viruses.

For instance, we may have a tendency to catch a cold easily. This does not definitely mean that we are not healthy. It means that our fitness levels are not in accordance with our age and the climatic conditions we live in. it all depends on our health which in turn is dependent on our fitness levels. So health and fitness move together.

Also, the fitness level is the state of our body based on our age, climatic conditions we live in, our lifestyle and our working conditions. One can see people having great fitness levels even in older age. For example, every morning in different parks you can two types of old people. One who is just meditating and sitting at one quietly enjoying the fresh air while the others who are jogging or walking briskly on tracks. They can even compete with the young people on the track. These are two types of fitness levels at the same age. It is all about how to fit we keep ourselves.

Moreover, you can see young people who are not able to climb stairs and tend to get tired easily. It is all because of their low levels of fitness that they are not able to keep good health. They are less fit as compared to other people of their age who keep themselves fit. The people who keep themselves fit keep their body healthy. So fitness levels decide the quality of our health.

How to maintain Health and Fitness:

It is important for everyone to devote some time to health and fitness. There are some activities which everyone should do in their daily lives. For instance, we must exercise daily irrespective of our age and working style. There are different levels of exercises for different age groups and we must do them as per our own health and age. Exercise keeps our healthy and fit. It keeps our body moving. Our muscles tend to contract if we do not make good use of them. Regular exercise stops them from contracting and improves our energy levels as well. One must devote at least some of the day for exercises.

Similarly, walking for some time in a day is a must for all. In fact, walking is considered the best exercise and is suited to all ages and fitness levels. It is important for maintaining health and fitness.

Additionally apart from walking and exercises, it is also important to relax our body. Therefore we should have at least six to eight hours of sleep every day. It is necessary to maintain proper levels of health and fitness. Moreover, it also helps in improving our immune system and prevents us from a number of diseases as well. Also, it helps in keeping us calm and relaxes our mind. This, in turn, reduces our stress and gives us new goals of health and fitness.

Importance of Food in Health and Fitness:

Food plays a vital role in maintaining health and fitness of our body. Our body absorbs nutrients from the food we eat. So we do not eat proper food our body does not get the required nutrients. This lowers the levels of health and fitness of our body and we are prone to a number of diseases. Therefore health experts usually say that we become what we eat.

So, in order to remain healthy and fit we must have a proper diet which contains the required amount of carbohydrates, fats, vitamin, proteins and minerals. We should eat vegetables and fruits as they provide us with the required vitamins and minerals. Milk provides us calcium which is essential for our bones. Additionally, we must stay away from junk food. Junk food contains excess amounts of carbohydrates and fats which get accumulated in our body and make us fat. The excess weight of our body makes us lazy and we catch up diseases more easily.

We must respect the body God has given us and take care of it in a good manner. We must neglect ourselves for the sake of work and other activities in our life. It is important to understand that we can perform our duties in life properly only we pay attention to the health and fitness levels of our body. Otherwise, although we may want to do something but our body may not support us. Hence we may not able to achieve our goals in life.

It is not necessary to be an athlete to have a good body. Every person in the world needs to have a healthy and fit body so as to stay away from disease and have a long and healthy life. Moreover, we must remember our importance for our families and society. If we suffer from diseases, our family members also get troubled. It affects their health and fitness as well.

The only way to have a healthy body is to ensure the proper fitness levels of our body. That is why even in schools so much of importance is given to the health and fitness levels of students. If we keep our body fit, we can enjoy life in a better manner.

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Health and Fitness Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on health and fitness.

We have always heard the word ‘health’ and ‘fitness’. We use it ourselves when we say phrases like ‘health is wealth’ and ‘fitness is the key’. What does the word health really mean? It implies the idea of ‘being well’. We call a person healthy and fit when he/she function well physically as well as mentally.

Factors Affecting our Health and Fitness

Good health and fitness is not something which one can achieve entirely on our own. It depends on their physical environment and the quality of food intake. We live in villages, towns, and cities.

In such places, even our physical environment affects our health. Therefore, our social responsibility of pollution-free environment directly affects our health. Our day-to-day habits also determine our fitness level. The quality of food, air, water all helps in building our fitness level.

Role of Nutritious Diet on our Health and Fitness

The first thing about where fitness starts is food. We should take nutritious food. Food rich in protein, vitamins, minerals, and carbohydrates is very essential. Protein is necessary for body growth. Carbohydrates provide the required energy in performing various tasks. Vitamin and minerals help in building bones and boosting our immune system.

However, taking food in uneven quantity is not good for the body. Taking essential nutrients in adequate amount is called a balanced diet. Taking a balanced diet keep body and mind strong and healthy. Good food helps in better sleep, proper brain functioning and healthy body weight.

Include vegetables, fruits, and pulses in daily diet. One must have a three-course meal. Having roughage helps in cleaning inner body organs. Healthy food habit prevents various diseases. Reducing the amount of fat in the diet prevents cholesterol and heart diseases.

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Impact of Exercise on our Health

Routine exercise helps improve our muscle power. Exercise helps in good oxygen supply and blood flow throughout the body. Heart and lungs work efficiently. Our bones get strong and joints have the pain free movement.

We should daily spend at least twenty minutes in our exercise. Daily morning walk improves our fitness level. We should avoid strenuous Gym activities. Exercise burns our fat and controls the cholesterol level in the body. Various outdoor games like cricket, football, volleyball, etc keeps our body fit. Regular exercise maintains our body shape.

Meditation, Yoga, and Health

Meditation and yoga are part of our life from ancient time. They not only make us physically fit but mentally strong as well. Meditation improves our concentration level. Our mind gets relaxed and thinking becomes positive.

A healthy mind is key for a healthy body. Yoga makes us stressfree and improves the endurance power of the mind. Yoga controls our blood pressure. With yoga, a strong bond with nature is established. Meditation is considered the best way to fight depression.

A person stays happier when he/she is fit and healthy. A fit and healthy person is less prone to chronic diseases. The healthy mind reacts better in a pressure situation. The self-confidence of a person is increased. Risk of heart failure is reduced drastically. With the increased immunity power body could fight cancerous cells. The intensity of the fracture is decreased with regular exercise.

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Physical Activity Is Good for the Mind and the Body

Health and Well-Being Matter is the monthly blog of the Director of the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

Everyone has their own way to “recharge” their sense of well-being — something that makes them feel good physically, emotionally, and spiritually even if they aren’t consciously aware of it. Personally, I know that few things can improve my day as quickly as a walk around the block or even just getting up from my desk and doing some push-ups. A hike through the woods is ideal when I can make it happen. But that’s me. It’s not simply that I enjoy these activities but also that they literally make me feel better and clear my mind.

Mental health and physical health are closely connected. No kidding — what’s good for the body is often good for the mind. Knowing what you can do physically that has this effect for you will change your day and your life.

Physical activity has many well-established mental health benefits. These are published in the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans and include improved brain health and cognitive function (the ability to think, if you will), a reduced risk of anxiety and depression, and improved sleep and overall quality of life. Although not a cure-all, increasing physical activity directly contributes to improved mental health and better overall health and well-being.

Learning how to routinely manage stress and getting screened for depression are simply good prevention practices. Awareness is especially critical at this time of year when disruptions to healthy habits and choices can be more likely and more jarring. Shorter days and colder temperatures have a way of interrupting routines — as do the holidays, with both their joys and their stresses. When the plentiful sunshine and clear skies of temperate months give way to unpredictable weather, less daylight, and festive gatherings, it may happen unconsciously or seem natural to be distracted from being as physically active. However, that tendency is precisely why it’s so important that we are ever more mindful of our physical and emotional health — and how we can maintain both — during this time of year.

Roughly half of all people in the United States will be diagnosed with a mental health disorder at some point in their lifetime, with anxiety and anxiety disorders being the most common. Major depression, another of the most common mental health disorders, is also a leading cause of disability for middle-aged adults. Compounding all of this, mental health disorders like depression and anxiety can affect people’s ability to take part in health-promoting behaviors, including physical activity. In addition, physical health problems can contribute to mental health problems and make it harder for people to get treatment for mental health disorders.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the need to take care of our physical and emotional health to light even more so these past 2 years. Recently, the U.S. Surgeon General highlighted how the pandemic has exacerbated the mental health crisis in youth .

The good news is that even small amounts of physical activity can immediately reduce symptoms of anxiety in adults and older adults. Depression has also shown to be responsive to physical activity. Research suggests that increased physical activity, of any kind, can improve depression symptoms experienced by people across the lifespan. Engaging in regular physical activity has also been shown to reduce the risk of developing depression in children and adults.

Though the seasons and our life circumstances may change, our basic needs do not. Just as we shift from shorts to coats or fresh summer fruits and vegetables to heartier fall food choices, so too must we shift our seasonal approach to how we stay physically active. Some of that is simply adapting to conditions: bundling up for a walk, wearing the appropriate shoes, or playing in the snow with the kids instead of playing soccer in the grass.

Sometimes there’s a bit more creativity involved. Often this means finding ways to simplify activity or make it more accessible. For example, it may not be possible to get to the gym or even take a walk due to weather or any number of reasons. In those instances, other options include adding new types of movement — such as impromptu dance parties at home — or doing a few household chores (yes, it all counts as physical activity).

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I built a makeshift gym in my garage as an alternative to driving back and forth to the gym several miles from home. That has not only saved me time and money but also afforded me the opportunity to get 15 to 45 minutes of muscle-strengthening physical activity in at odd times of the day.

For more ideas on how to get active — on any day — or for help finding the motivation to get started, check out this Move Your Way® video .

The point to remember is that no matter the approach, the Physical Activity Guidelines recommend that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (anything that gets your heart beating faster) each week and at least 2 days per week of muscle-strengthening activity (anything that makes your muscles work harder than usual). Youth need 60 minutes or more of physical activity each day. Preschool-aged children ages 3 to 5 years need to be active throughout the day — with adult caregivers encouraging active play — to enhance growth and development. Striving toward these goals and then continuing to get physical activity, in some shape or form, contributes to better health outcomes both immediately and over the long term.

For youth, sports offer additional avenues to more physical activity and improved mental health. Youth who participate in sports may enjoy psychosocial health benefits beyond the benefits they gain from other forms of leisure-time physical activity. Psychological health benefits include higher levels of perceived competence, confidence, and self-esteem — not to mention the benefits of team building, leadership, and resilience, which are important skills to apply on the field and throughout life. Research has also shown that youth sports participants have a reduced risk of suicide and suicidal thoughts and tendencies. Additionally, team sports participation during adolescence may lead to better mental health outcomes in adulthood (e.g., less anxiety and depression) for people exposed to adverse childhood experiences. In addition to the physical and mental health benefits, sports can be just plain fun.

Physical activity’s implications for significant positive effects on mental health and social well-being are enormous, impacting every facet of life. In fact, because of this national imperative, the presidential executive order that re-established the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition explicitly seeks to “expand national awareness of the importance of mental health as it pertains to physical fitness and nutrition.” While physical activity is not a substitute for mental health treatment when needed and it’s not the answer to certain mental health challenges, it does play a significant role in our emotional and cognitive well-being.

No matter how we choose to be active during the holiday season — or any season — every effort to move counts toward achieving recommended physical activity goals and will have positive impacts on both the mind and the body. Along with preventing diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and the additional risks associated with these comorbidities, physical activity’s positive effect on mental health is yet another important reason to be active and Move Your Way .

As for me… I think it’s time for a walk. Happy and healthy holidays, everyone!

Yours in health, Paul

Paul Reed, MD Rear Admiral, U.S. Public Health Service Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health Director, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website.

Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by ODPHP or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website.

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Introduction, the link between physical activity and health, the need to understand physical activity as a health behavior, south africa: communities in transition, australia: collaborative strategies and leveraging the sydney 2000 olympics, the us: initiatives in schools, healthcare settings and worksites, conclusions.

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Promoting physical activity: the new imperative for public health

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Phillip B. Sparling, Neville Owen, Estelle V. Lambert, William L. Haskell, Promoting physical activity: the new imperative for public health, Health Education Research , Volume 15, Issue 3, June 2000, Pages 367–376, https://doi.org/10.1093/her/15.3.367

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The aim of this essay is to provide an overview of initiatives designed to increase physical activity among different populations and in different settings, and to set the context for the major challenges that lie ahead. The decline in habitual physical activity with modernization, and the causal link between physical activity and health are briefly reviewed. The need to understand physical activity as a health behavior and examples of behavior change theories that have been applied to the promotion of physical activity are discussed. Diverse projects and campaigns in three countries, i.e. South Africa, Australia and the US, are highlighted. Common themes found in these physical activity initiatives include the development of a theory-driven research base, inclusion of behavioral and social scientists on multidisciplinary teams, and advocacy for environmental changes that promote physical activity. Within the next decade, research projects and national campaigns such as those described herein will yield important new findings on how to increase physical activity levels among targeted sectors of the population. The research agenda for the future includes development of both basic and applied research on physical activity, and the integration of theory across social, behavioral and biomedical disciplines.

The human species was designed for movement. Until the mid-19th century, humans lived as gatherers, scavengers, toolmakers, hunters, farmers and artisans. For 99.9% of human history, physical demands were typical of daily life and an expected part of the everyday world ( Astrand, 1986 ). Our species not only survived but flourished for several thousand generations prior to the advent of the automobile, television, video games and the Internet. Within only a few generations, the physical activity demands of work, domestic chores and leisure time have decreased so dramatically as to be nearly non-existent in industrialized and urbanized environments.

However, it has also become increasingly clear that many of the chronic diseases we face today are associated fundamentally with the pervasive sedentariness of modern life. A case can be made that habitual physical activity has a biological basis with a central control, and that physical inactivity disturbs normal function and contributes to chronic energy imbalance ( Rowland, 1998 ). This is not a plea to return to the physical toil that our ancestors endured. Rather, it is a reminder that that our bodies have an inherent need to be exercised. If our overall health and functioning are to be optimized, we need to be physically active on a regular basis.

In recent years the public health benefits of reducing sedentary lifestyles and promoting physical activity have become increasingly apparent. Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General ( http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/sgr/sgr.htm ) provides a comprehensive overview and a call to action ( US Department of Health and Human Services, 1996 ). Results from laboratory studies, clinical trials and epidemiological investigations provide convincing evidence that increasing one's level of physical activity—especially for those who are sedentary—has multiple beneficial health effects. These include reducing the risk of prematurely dying from coronary heart disease (CHD), type 2 diabetes and colon cancer. Endurance-type exercise can improve mental health, and reduce the risk of developing obesity and osteoporosis. Regular physical activity also preserves functional independence in older adults.

When all research is considered collectively, a dose–response relationship between activity levels and disease prevention is clearly evident ( US Department of Health and Human Services, 1996 ). As illustrated in Figure 1 , investigators from numerous recent epidemiological studies have reported this relationship in men and in women, and in many countries. These data are for all-cause mortality. Much of the inverse relation between activity amount and all-cause mortality is due to the inverse relationship between activity amount and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). However, some studies have demonstrated a significant inverse relationship between activity level and cancer mortality and non-CVD mortality. The particular studies included in Figure 1 were selected based on being representative of those with the strongest research design, methodology and analysis.

How much exercise is enough? What is an appropriate dose of physical activity (type, duration, intensity, frequency) to reduce disease risk and enhance well-being? Although specific recommendations may vary with age and health status, a consensus guideline is that every adult should accumulate 30 min or more of moderate-intensity endurance-type physical activity over the course of most days of the week ( Pate et al. , 1995 ; NIH, 1996; American College of Sports Medicine, 1998 ). For example, a sedentary office worker could meet this standard by briskly walking 2 miles at lunchtime every day of the workweek. Using population attributable risk, a 5–6% reduction in mortality from CHD, diabetes and colon cancer (30 000–35 000 deaths per year in the US) could be realized if 50% of the population made increases in physical activity practices consistent with the consensus guideline ( Powell and Blair, 1994 ).

Additional health and functional benefits can be achieved by more time in moderate-intensity activity or by substituting more vigorous aerobic activity such as jogging. Additionally, it is recommended that strength-developing activities for the major muscle groups (such as resistance training or calisthenics) and flexibility training be performed at least twice a week ( Pate et al. , 1995 ; NIH, 1996; American College of Sports Medicine, 1998 ).

Like most human behaviors, physical activity is a complex behavior. Physical activity in our daily lives is determined by a web of factors that has become more intricate over the past century as advances in science and technology continually change our world. In attempting to understand physical activity as a health-enhancing behavior, it is useful to adopt an ecological perspective ( Sallis and Owen, 1997 ). In this framework, behaviors are viewed as an outcome of the interactions among personal attributes (biological and psychological) and environmental factors (social influences and physical facilities/surroundings). This holistic approach attempts to encompass all possible determinants of physical activity behavior for free-living individuals. It provides the larger context within which different models and theories can be developed and tested.

In recent years there has been an increased awareness of the need for theory-driven research on the process of health behavior change. A number of behavior change theories have been applied to the promotion of physical activity with promising results. To illustrate the different types of theories, four examples, i.e. Social Cognitive Theory, Behavior Modification, the Transtheoretical Model and Social Marketing Theory, are briefly described.

Social Cognitive Theory ( Bandura, 1977 ), one of the most widely adopted theories applied to health promotion, is based on the principle of reciprocal determinism which refers to the way behavior and environment continuously interact and influence each other. Social Cognitive Theory holds that two basic cognitions are vital for the prediction of a behavior change. The first cognition, outcome expectancy , is defined as a person's estimate that a given behavior will lead to certain outcomes (e.g. `If I will exercise, I shall lose weight'). The second basic cognition is self-efficacy , the conviction that one can successfully execute the behavior required to produce an outcome (e.g. `I am capable of exercising to the extent that I will lose weight').

Behavior Modification ( Skinner, 1953 ) is similar in many respects to approaches applied from Social Cognitive Theory. A central tenet of Behavior Modification is that altering consequences is the most powerful method for changing behavior. Reinforcers (rewards such as money, certificates, socializing) increase behavior, where as punishers (such as discomfort during exercise, embarrassment due to poor performance, fear of injury) reduce the probability of repeating the behavior. Interventions to increase physical activity should be designed with multiple reinforcers that are strong and temporally close to the physical activity behavior, whereas punishers should be minimized or eliminated.

The Transtheoretical Model ( Prochaska and Marcus, 1994 ), popularly referred to as the Stages of Change Model, describes five different stages of motivational readiness which appear to be common to most behavior change processes (i.e. precontemplation , contemplation , preparation , action and maintenance ). A major contribution of this model is that people in different stages are shown to use different processes to move to the next stage. Thus, to move people forward toward the desired behavior, it becomes important to identify their current stage and then use strategies known to be effective for that specific stage.

Social Marketing Theory ( Kotler and Zaltman, 1971 ) involves the application of commercial marketing techniques to the analysis, planning, implementation and assessment of programs designed to improve voluntary health behaviors among target audiences. Social marketing has supported creative experimentation with different intervention methods such as mass communication, sponsorship of events and competitions. It is less a theory in the formal sense than a planning model for health promotion. Social marketing offers a sophisticated, research-based process for achieving defined behavioral objectives in identified priority populations, with benefits to both individuals and society.

Depending on multiple factors such as the level of intervention (i.e. individual. community, organizational settings, public policy and practice), a single theory or a combination of different models and theories may be appropriate to achieve specific physical activity goals. Selection should be based on which has the better fit with the problem under study. Comprehensive reviews and critiques on the application of these and other behavior change theories to increase physical activity levels in sedentary persons have been recently published in a theme issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine ( Blair and Morrow, 1998 ).

In the following sections, recent campaigns in three countries, i.e. South Africa, Australia and the US, are briefly highlighted to share the variety of initiatives being used to promote physical activity to targeted populations. Many countries in Europe, South America and elsewhere are pursuing related projects. The examples that follow reflect the transition toward theory-based research. Over the next decade, experimental trials and systematic evaluations of these and similar projects will provide a much needed body of evidence. Findings from such investigations will allow us to determine the degree to which theory-driven interventions can effect long-term change in individual behavior or communities beyond, or perhaps despite, the prevailing trend of increasing sedentariness.

South Africa, with a population of 41 million and 11 official languages, is a culturally diverse country undergoing enormous transition. Seventy-five percent of South Africans are literate. This is juxtaposed with a 40% rate of unemployment. Children under the age of 15 make up one-third of the population, while adults over 65 constitute less than 5%. It is estimated that by the year 2010, 70–80% of the population will be urbanized.

While infectious diseases remain endemic in South Africa, morbidity from chronic diseases is increasing along with the prevalence of contributing risk factors such as smoking, sedentary living and a change from a more traditional to a Westernized diet. For example, in 1990, 7.6% of deaths in adult South Africans were attributed to tuberculosis and the prevalence of HIV infection was estimated to be 7.5%. At the same time, chronic diseases of lifestyle accounted for nearly 30% of deaths between the ages of 35 and 64 years. The majority of South Africans have at least one modifiable risk factor for chronic disease ( Steyn et al. , 1992 ). Moreover, in cross-sectional studies, over 40% of historically, socio-politically, disadvantaged persons living in urban communities reportedly do not participate in any leisure or occupational physical activity ( Levitt et al. , 1993 ).

Physical activity and health promotion initiatives in South Africa have been fragmented, with little central government coordination. This may be attributed in part to: (1) emphasis within the formal health sector on primary healthcare delivery, (2) the collapse of physical education within public schools and historical absence of such programs in disadvantaged communities, (3) a lack of basic infrastructure in many peri-urban and urban communities, and (4) a high prevalence of urban violence and risk to personal safety.

The South African government has recently begun initiatives promoting physical activity in certain target populations. In April 1999, the first set of national guidelines incorporating physical activity was released by the Department of Health, targeting older adults, and there are several national campaigns aimed at increasing awareness regarding physical activity and health, such as National Wellness Day. However, these initiatives lack a broad-based infrastructure for implementation, as well as financial support and community awareness for sustainability. Furthermore, the effectiveness of these social marketing campaigns for increasing awareness regarding physical activity on a community level or for increasing the adoption of physical activity on an individual level has not been measured.

The impetus for increasing recognition and adoption of physical activity for health promotion has occurred largely through non-governmental groups—private, academic and sports organizations. In 1997, a regional initiative for health promotion was created, the Community Health Intervention Programs, as a joint venture between a privately funded, non-profit organization (the Sports Science Institute of South Africa) and a national insurance company (The Old Mutual). This initiative involves a range of community bodies from civic associations, church groups, seniors clubs and children's homes to universities and teaching colleges. The aim is to enable previously disadvantaged communities to begin health promotion projects using physical activity intervention as the vehicle. Separate programs target children, adults and older adults. Community consultation precedes implementation and community leaders are trained by sport scientists, allied health professionals and physical education specialists. Co-implementation takes place for 3 months, after which time the program staff withdraw, and ownership of programs is transferred to the community and monitored on an ongoing basis.

The ultimate goal of this regional initiative is to implement a working model of broader participation in physical activity and sport, nationwide. The success of this model is dependent on a sustainable community infrastructure. Moreover, this program is only implemented in communities that have specifically requested to be considered. As a result, on a community level, there are already resources or `experts' and a core group of individuals who are beyond the pre-contemplative stage of change. The face-to-face intervention and the training of community leaders may improve the adoption of physical activity by improving self-efficacy of participants. Early results in older adults have demonstrated a significant increase in exercise-related physical activity, improved functional capacity and lowered systolic blood pressure.

One of the few national initiatives linking physical activity and health promotion is the WHO Health-Promoting Schools Network which falls under the Health Promotion Directorate of the South African Department of Health. Aimed at developing infrastructure on which to build sustainable projects, the program has the potential to promote healthy living at the `grass roots' level. A health-promoting school is one in which all members work with available resources to promote the well-being of the entire school community. The health-promoting school model is one of the few models that demonstrates inter-sectoral collaboration and the integration of environmental policy, e.g. with health policy. The promotion of physical activity is to be one of the primary interventions through which health promotion takes place.

Australians have an image as an active outdoor, sporting people. Despite this attractive mythology, the `bronzed Aussie' is as likely as any North American to be overweight and unfit. The CPI (`couch potato index') for Australia is much like that of other urbanized nations—some 30% of adults are almost totally sedentary in their leisure time ( Owen and Bauman, 1992 ). Australian Aboriginal people, while only a small percentage of the total population, have disproportionately high rates of diabetes and increasingly suffer from `Westernized' disease patterns. There have been concerted efforts in Australia to activate the whole population. In the early 1990s, the National Heart Foundation conducted large-scale campaigns based on the Social Marketing Theory. Campaigns included mass media, community events and focused training of health professionals. A systematic evaluation demonstrated significant increases in campaign message awareness and walking for exercise in older and less educated subgroups ( Owen et al. , 1995 ).

A new national strategy—`Active Australia'—was launched in 1997 as a joint initiative of the national government's health and sport and recreation sectors. `Active Australia' promotes collaboration between the many sectors of government and industry with an aim to increase people's choices and opportunities to be more physically active. Education, transportation, urban planning and local government have important roles in the Australian national strategy. Much of the energy and leadership behind the Australian initiatives is being stimulated by the Sydney 2000 Olympics. The public interest and massive media exposure associated with Sydney 2000 will provide a unique opportunity to promote the health benefits of physical activity to the entire population.

Recent campaigns in Australia have included a focus on activating the `sedentary but motivated' — those in the contemplation stage of the Transtheoretical Model as it is applied to physical activity ( Donovan and Owen, 1994 ; Prochaska and Marcus, 1994 ). This campaign target group has a high proportion of older and less well-educated Australians ( Booth et al ., 1993 ), and in previous campaigns was the population segment most-responsive to initiatives promoting regular exercise through moderate-intensity activity and walking ( Booth et al. , 1992 ; Owen et al. , 1995 ).

Specific components of the new `Active Australia' programs that target increased physical activity include: (1) paid mass-media advertising to inform those in the target group about the importance of regular, moderate-intensity physical activity, (2) specific community physical activity events in partnership with the National Heart Foundation, sport and recreation bodies, and local governments, and (3) a major focus on providing physical activity advice through primary care providers ( Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services, 1998 ). The leadership in these initiatives has involved experts from several disciplines and professions including health and physical education, epidemiology, behavioral science, and members of several medical specialties.

The overall portfolio of `Active Australia' programs aims also to develop effective environmental approaches to increasing physical activity in the whole Australian population ( Sallis et al. , 1998 ). This cross-cutting objective is being achieved through formal inter-sectoral partnerships with agencies involved in the transportation, urban planning, local government, environment and private sectors ( Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services, 1998 ).

Australia's efforts are driven by a strong national commitment to prevent the many diseases associated with inactivity and obesity. The central challenge is to take those efforts beyond personal health and to link them to the values and goals of schools, communities, government and industry. A practical manifestation is, for example, promoting walking and cycling, which, in turn, is synergistic with the goals of improving urban environments and reducing automobile emission levels. One of the major lessons learned from the recent Australian programs and current initiatives is the importance of a multidisciplinary evidence-based approach. Promising interventions and strategies must be based on expert input from the epidemiologists integrated with that of the behavioral scientists ( Booth et al. , 1992 ; Owen et al. , 1995 ; Sallis and Owen, 1999 ).

In March 1997, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published `Guidelines for school and community programs to promote lifelong physical activity among young people' ( Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1997 ). Schools and communities have the potential to improve the health of young people by providing instruction, programs and services that promote enjoyable, lifelong physical activity. Ten broad recommendations were developed focusing on topics such as physical education, health education, facilities/environment, extracurricular activities, health services and parental involvement. Key recommendations include: (1) develop students' mastery of and confidence in behavioral skills needed (e.g. self-monitoring, goal setting, managing barriers) to adopt and maintain a healthy lifestyle that includes regular physical activity, (2) provide access to safe spaces and facilities for physical activity in the school and community, (3) discourage the use of or withholding of physical activity as punishment, and (4) encourage parents to be physically active role models, and to plan and participate in family activities that include physical activity. This report reflects the importance of social support and environmental considerations in increasing physical activity in children and youth. These guidelines have been widely disseminated across the US, to school districts, communities, local and state governments, and associated professionals.

Healthcare settings in the US offer a unique opportunity to counsel adults and young people about physical activity. Eighty percent of the population has at least one visit to a primary care physician every year. As esteemed professionals, physicians can significantly influence their patients regarding healthy lifestyles. An example of such an initiative is Project PACE (Physician-based Assessment and Counseling for Exercise), the aim of which is to provide primary care physicians the tools to counsel patients on strategies for incorporating exercise into their daily routine ( Calfas et al. , 1996 ). Developed by behavioral and social scientists using Social Cognitive Theory and the Transtheoretical Model, Project PACE materials are used by designated members of the healthcare team to individualize brief counseling messages for patients. Initial findings indicate that this intervention is efficacious in producing short-term increases in physical activity among previously sedentary patients.

As a follow-up to the Project PACE findings, a larger, randomized physical activity intervention study known as the Activity Counseling Trial (ACT) is currently underway ( Blair et al. , 1998 ; King et al. , 1998 ). ACT is a NIH-funded, multi-center study designed to evaluate three behavior-change interventions to promote physical activity in the primary care setting among sedentary adults, 35–75 years of age. The goal is to increase physical activity by 2 kcal/kg body weight per day (i.e. around 800–1000 kcal/week). The three interventions—standard care control, staff-assisted intervention or staff-counseling intervention—differ in the amount of interpersonal contact and resources required. The research teams are comprised of both biomedical and behavioral specialists, including physicians, nurses, exercise physiologists, biostatisticians, health educators and psychologists.

Intervention strategies are based on altering key mediators of physical activity. For example, based on Social Cognitive Theory, strategies to enhance self-efficacy (one's confidence to be physically active in variable settings), an intra-personal mediator, are expected to produce increases in physical activity. Similarly, targeted inter-personal mediators include modeling of physical activity by others and social support directly related to physical activity participation. The Transtheoretical Model (stages of change concept) is also used to select appropriate intervention techniques dependent on the participant's stage of motivational readiness.

The ACT timeline is a 6-month intervention and an 18-month follow-up. The primary outcomes are physical activity (estimated energy expenditure per week) and cardiorespiratory fitness (maximal oxygen uptake). Secondary outcomes include changes in CHD risk factors and selected psychosocial variables (e.g. self-efficacy, stages of change, social support, quality of life). This study will assess the utility of theory-based interventions in increasing physical activity during the treatment period and their efficacy in maintaining a higher level of physical activity in the longer term.

To unite the strengths of public, private and industry efforts into a collaborative partnership to inspire Americans to lead physically active lifestyles, the National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity (NCPPA) was created in 1995. The NCPPA ( http://www.ncppa.org/ ) comprises over 100 member organizations with executive leadership coming from the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Heart Association, the Association for Worksite Health Promotion, and the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.

A major initiative of the NCPPA is the National Behavior Change Campaign, known as AIM 2010. AIM 2010 is a 15-year institutional and community capacity-building strategy that diffuses behavior change intervention in phases that will culminate in a national campaign that addresses both individual behavior change and environmental and policy initiatives to promote physical activity. AIM 2010 emanated from a 50-day worksite intervention at a federal agency using the Stages of Change Model to promote regular, moderate physical activity ( Cole et al. , 1998 ). More than one-third (35%) of 1192 participants progressed one or more stages during the intervention. Multiple pilot sites are now active in state health departments, public school systems and major corporations.

Public health experts now recognize the health-damaging mismatch between a human phenotype designed for regular physical activity and an environment that increasingly acts to minimize activity ( US Department of Health and Human Services, 1996 ). Concurrent with public health initiatives, our knowledge base continues to expand rapidly across a spectrum of disciplines ranging in focus from the cell to the population: genetics and molecular biology, basic and applied physiology, the behavioral and social sciences, and epidemiology and other public health disciplines.

Where might we find the most effective solutions to preventing the highly prevalent and deleterious health consequences of the evolutionary mismatch? Will we continue the trend of increasing dependence on pharmacological interventions to control chronic diseases associated with lifestyle when non-pharmacological, behavioral interventions are viable options and may be more cost-effective and safer? Or, is it possible to have a fundamental re-examination and re-working of public policies that address the consequences of rapid technological change and expanding Westernization?

Some first steps have been taken in that direction. In capsule views, we have described initiatives in Australia, South Africa and the US. Can our observations on cooperative ventures among health, education, industry and government sectors in Australia and the US be beneficial in preventing the decline in physical activity associated with urbanization in developing countries such as South Africa? One lesson is the need for healthcare clinicians and behavioral scientists to be proactive, persuasive and collaborative with business leaders and policy makers to incorporate environmental features that foster physical activity (e.g. green spaces/parks, walkways, bicycle commuter trails) in all aspects of development.

An interesting comparison can be made between current initiatives to increase physical activity and ongoing initiatives to decrease the use of tobacco. The first US Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health was published in 1964. Since then, we have seen impressive progress in research and public-health action—smokers now form less than one-quarter of the adult population in the US, Australia and other industrialized countries. Much of what we have learned from these experiences will apply to the public health imperative to reduce sedentary behaviors.

The 1996 US Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health has set a challenging new agenda for research and public health advocacy. Will enforced sedentary behavior in schools and workplaces eventually have to be designated as a health risk similar to passive smoking? Will environmental and social-change solutions, which go against prevailing economic and technological trends, be achievable? Solutions to combating pervasive sedentariness are also related to broader questions about the quality, safety and sustainability of human environments, and ultimately to the longer-term survival of the planetary biosphere ( McMichael, 1993 ). Re-incorporating a modicum of physical activity into our daily life is a key health initiative on which we—as individuals, communities, nations and as a species—need to act.

In summary, the aim of this essay has been to set the backdrop, the larger context, for the challenges that lie ahead in promoting physical activity population-wide. A brief journey highlighting the decline in habitual physical activity with modernization, the casual link between physical activity and health, and the need for theory-based research to better understand physical activity as a health behavior has been made. Examples of ongoing physical activity promotion projects in South Africa, Australia and the US have been shared. It is evident that if physical activity promotion is to succeed as a public health initiative, a multidisciplinary team approach is required. Professionals in health behavior will play an increasingly important role in the future research agenda.

All-cause mortality rates for least active persons are expressed as 1.00 for each study. Rates for persons classified as performing intermediate or highest amounts of activity are expressed as a risk ratio in relation to the rate for the least active. For example, a value of 0.80 for the intermediate group means that the mortality rate for this group was calculated to be 20% less than that of the least active group. References from left to right: ( Paffenbarger et al. , 1993 ; Leon et al. , 1987 ; Bijnen et al. , 1998 ; Wannamethee et al. , 1998 ; Kujal et al. , 1998 ; Hakim et al. , 1998 ; Rosengren et al. , 1997; LaCroix et al. , 1996 ; Kushi et al. , 1997 ).

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Steyn, K., Fourie, J., and Bradshaw, D. ( 1992 ) The impact of chronic disease of lifestyle and their major risk factors on mortality in South Africa. South African Medical Journal , 82 , 227 –231.

US Department of Health and Human Services (1996) Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. USDHHS, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA.

Wannamethee, S. G., Shaper, A. G. and Walker, M. ( 1998 ) Changes in physical activity, mortality, and incidence of coronary heart disease in older men. Lancet , 251 , 1603 –1608.

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Nih research matters.

January 11, 2022

Testing ways to encourage exercise

At a glance.

• A large nationwide study identified inexpensive interventions that boosted weekly gym visits by up to 27%.
• The results point to affordable strategies to help increase the amount of exercise Americans get on a regular basis.

Fewer than 1 in 4 adults in the U.S. get the amount of exercise recommended to maintain health and prevent chronic disease. Designing interventions that encourage people to exercise more regularly has proven challenging.

Researchers have tested many strategies to increase physical activity. But these studies tend to be small. Variation in populations, locations, and other factors also makes it hard to compare results. And what works in one setting may not work in another.

To overcome these limitations, researchers led by Drs. Katherine Milkman and Angela Duckworth from the University of Pennsylvania tested dozens of different ways to boost exercise using a novel approach they developed called a megastudy. The research team included 30 scientists from 15 universities. They enrolled more than 60,000 members—with an average age of about 40—of 24 Hour Fitness gyms, a national fitness chain. Members are required to check in electronically before using the gym. This allowed the researchers to track how often people exercised before, during, and after the study.

The researchers created 53 different 4-week programs designed to encourage exercise. All programs included planning when workouts would occur, text message reminders before planned workouts, and micro-rewards—points redeemable for small credits on Amazon. Additional strategies and incentives were then stacked on top of these three elements.

Because of the study’s size, each intervention could be tested in hundreds to thousands of people. The researchers compared the interventions against the baseline program for their ability to boost the number of gym visits during four weeks of intervention and for ten weeks afterward. An additional control group received no intervention except for an Amazon credit when they enrolled in the study equal to the expected earnings in most programs ($1.08).

The study was funded in part by NIH’s National Institute on Aging (NIA). Results were published on December 8, 2021, in Nature .

Overall, 45% of the interventions boosted the number of weekly gym visits during the four-week study period compared with the control group. These increased exercise from around 9% to 27%.

Five of the interventions stood out for being especially effective. One provided higher overall rewards for workouts. Two provided bonus rewards for returning to the gym after a missed workout. One let participants choose whether they wanted their rewards framed as losses or gains (that is, losing or earning reward points). And another sent text messages informing participants that most Americans exercise, and that this fraction is growing.

To explore the value of the megastudy approach, the researchers surveyed more than 300 experts in the field about which programs they thought would most effectively boost exercise. Those predictions did not match up with the interventions that resulted in the most gym visits.

“These results show how difficult it is to predict which interventions to increase exercise will work,” says Duckworth.

“They also highlight the value of megastudies,” Milkman adds, “which allow researchers to test many different approaches to changing behavior at once in order to determine what interventions are most effective.”

Negative results from small studies often get little to no attention. Megastudies have the additional advantage of being able to rule out, all at once, many interventions that don’t work. They’re now being used to test other public health interventions, such as encouraging vaccination.

—by Sharon Reynolds

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References:  Megastudies improve the impact of applied behavioural science. Milkman KL, Gromet D, Ho H, Kay JS, Lee TW, Pandiloski P, Park Y, Rai A, Bazerman M, Beshears J, Bonacorsi L, Camerer C, Chang E, Chapman G, Cialdini R, Dai H, Eskreis-Winkler L, Fishbach A, Gross JJ, Horn S, Hubbard A, Jones SJ, Karlan D, Kautz T, Kirgios E, Klusowski J, Kristal A, Ladhania R, Loewenstein G, Ludwig J, Mellers B, Mullainathan S, Saccardo S, Spiess J, Suri G, Talloen JH, Taxer J, Trope Y, Ungar L, Volpp KG, Whillans A, Zinman J, Duckworth AL. Nature . 2021 Dec;600(7889):478-483. doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-04128-4. Epub 2021 Dec 8. PMID: 34880497.

Funding:  NIH’s National Institute on Aging (NIA); Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; AKO Foundation; J. Alexander; M. J. Leder; W. G. Lichtenstein; Pershing Square Fund for Research on the Foundations of Human Behavior.

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Essay on Health and Fitness for Students

• Updated on  
• Nov 18, 2023

What did you play in your sports period at school? Was it football, Cricket, Badminton, or any other sports? Maintaining good physical health requires you to take good care of your body and in most cases, your mental fitness also. From an early age, we are taught how to take care of our health and fitness. School students are often encouraged to write an essay on health and fitness, where they must come up with ideas about how to keep themselves physically and mentally fit and the benefits of a healthy life. Well, if you have not, you need not to worry. I’ve got your back. I’ll be providing you with a detailed explanation about staying fit and how you can add them to your essay on health and fitness. Stay tuned! 

Table of Contents

• 1 Essay on Health and Fitness in 100 Words
• 2 Essay on Health and Fitness in 200 Words
• 3 Essay on Health and Fitness in 300 Words

Also Read: Best Fitness Exercises for Students Studying Abroad

Essay on Health and Fitness in 100 Words

Also Read: 7 Ways on Which Good Mental Health Leads to Good Physical Health

Essay on Health and Fitness in 200 Words

‘It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.’ – Mahatma Gandhi

Essay on Health and Fitness in 300 Words

Related Articles

To write an essay on health and fitness, you are required to describe how one can achieve his or her fitness goals. The health and fitness lifestyle depends on three factors; physical exercise, balanced diet and adequate rest. To achieve a healthy and fit life, you must focus on all these aspects. Describe them in detail and provide a positive conclusion.

Regular exercise boosts cardiovascular exercises, strength training, or flexibility workouts, enhances cardiovascular health, and strengthens muscles. A balanced and nutritious diet, rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats is necessary. Adequate and quality sleep is crucial for physical recovery, cognitive function, and emotional well-being. The release of endorphins during physical activity helps reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, promoting a positive mindset. Health and fitness are not isolated concepts but interconnected elements of a holistic lifestyle. 

When on a diet, consider these fat-free foods: Beans and legumes, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, skim milk, egg whites, and yoghurt.

For more information on such interesting topics for your school, visit our essay writing page and make sure to follow Leverage Edu .

Shiva Tyagi

With an experience of over a year, I've developed a passion for writing blogs on wide range of topics. I am mostly inspired from topics related to social and environmental fields, where you come up with a positive outcome.

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How to be Healthy Essay

Introduction, keeping fit, eating well, maintain a healthy weight, getting enough sleep, lifestyle choices.

Almost every person hopes to have a long, healthy life. However, many persons do not recognize the fundamental life choices that when made, can enable them live healthy, and often take these choices to be sacrifices that are not worth making. Choosing to adopt a healthy lifestyle has several benefits to the body such as a significant improvement of life expectancy, having a life free of disease and ailments, having a fit body, and the overall well being of the body.

Today, most of us focus on making outside changes in order to look healthy, such as using cosmetics. What we do not realize is that what we put in our body and how we handle it ultimately determines how we look, feel, energy levels, and the general health of the body. In order to be healthy, a person does not necessarily have to make radical changes to the lifestyle, rather, it involves making simple small changes to everyday life.

Changes such as taking the stairs instead of the lift, adding a fruit to a meal, having a glass of water at every opportune instance, and eating snacks in moderation are just some of the few steps to having a healthy life. In order to live healthy, a person should focus on keeping fit, eating healthy, checking on their weight, getting enough sleep, and avoiding risky behaviors such as smoking and taking alcohol in moderation.

One of the greatest impediments to living healthy is the lack of physical activity. Although many people recognize the benefits of keeping fit, they avoid it either because they think it is a waste of time, or they are used to a sedentary lifestyle. The truth is, the more a person engages in physical activity, the healthier they become.

Physical activity does not have to be vigorous, in fact, even simple activities such as gardening, walking, and partaking in domestic chores can greatly improve one’s health. Even recreational activities such as cycling, dancing and swimming can help in keeping fit.

The benefits of physical activity include a reduction of the risks of heart diseases and diabetes, improvement of mental health, strengthening of bones and muscles, and helping with a number of health niggles such as digestion and poor posture, among other benefits.

Eating well entails striving to have a balanced diet at all instances. A good diet not only helps in weight management, but it can also improve a person’s health and the overall quality of life. Every meal should include plenty of fruits and vegetables, grain products and legumes, but less of foods that contain more calories and fats. Although proteins rich foods such as meats are important to the body, they should be taken in moderation, and the focus should be on leaner meats (mainly white meat) and foods with little or no fat.

Consuming dairy products with little or no fats, such as skimmed milk, is another simple plan for reducing the quantity of calories entering the body. Eating habits such as eating while one is not hungry, skipping breakfast, and eating fast should be avoided. A person should also strive to drink as much water as possible since the body requires at least 8 cups of water each day.

One major step to being healthy is to maintain a healthy weight, and this may entail shedding off excess weight, gaining weight for underage persons, or maintaining that ideal weight. Eating right and participating in physical activities can go a long way in having a healthy weight and avoiding the health problems arising from being overweight.

To avoid being overweight or to shed off the extra pounds, a person should avoid high-calorie foods, or consume them in moderation and partake in regular physical activity. Trying to gain weight can be more difficult than losing weight. In gaining weight, one must not focus on consuming junk foods or snacks as this can clog the arteries and lead to heart diseases. Calories and fats must be obtained from healthy foods.

Failure to have enough sleep can have a negative impact on a person’s life, for instance, people who sleep less than seven hours a day are more exposed to catarrhal diseases than those who sleep for at least eight hours. The need for sleep varies among different persons, therefore, one should determine his/her own sleep requirements, and strive to have adequate sleep every day. As a caution, alcohol, or any other drug, should not be used to induce sleep as this would only lead to a pass out, not sleep.

Lifestyle choices such as avoiding cigarettes, avoiding excess calories from alcohol, sugar and fats, reducing the intake of high-fat foods, and partaking in physical activities should be emphasized on a day-to-day basis. Although alcohol has been found to be important to the body, it should be taken in moderation as it exposes the body to harmful compounds (cigarettes have the same effect).

All of us aspire to be healthy and engage in different activities to achieve this objective, however, there is no single way of ensuring that we are healthy for the rest our life. A healthy life is a cumulative product of various activities as outlined above, and discarding certain choices. The activities outlined must be observed on a day-to-day basis, and this does not have to mean making drastic changes, it is the simple, small changes that lead to a healthy life. In fact, drastic changes can lead to failure, or other side effects.

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IvyPanda . (2023) 'How to be Healthy'. 2 November.

IvyPanda . 2023. "How to be Healthy." November 2, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/how-to-be-healthy/.

1. IvyPanda . "How to be Healthy." November 2, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/how-to-be-healthy/.

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8 Ways to Motivate Yourself to Be Healthy

Small shifts in motivation can make the difference in your pursuit of health..

Posted September 1, 2022 | Reviewed by Vanessa Lancaster

• What Is Motivation?
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Many of us struggle to maintain a healthy lifestyle. We are often painfully aware of our shortcomings when attempting to follow a nutritious diet , exercise regularly, or curtail our vices. Even if we were to limit our objectives to "Do the things we know we should do and don’t do the things we know we shouldn’t do," most of us would still waver in our pursuit of health. At the individual level, motivation is key.

This post highlights the S.T.R.E.N.G.T.H that is needed with eight ways to help motivate yourself to be healthy.

1. Self-determination: Do it your way. Self-determination theory has been used to explain motivation in maintaining healthy habits. Autonomy is central to this framework of behavior change, which highlights the importance of feeling control over one’s experiences. Feeling empowered to make our own choices ascribes value to our health decisions. In a world where we are constantly bombarded by snippets of other people’s lives, it can be easy to feel that we are missing out on a myriad of experiences.

The range of possible experiences you could have is endless, but you’ll miss out on nearly all of them. Having autonomy over your choices to select the healthy experiences you want is precisely what gives them meaning. So however you choose to be healthy, ensure you do it your way.

2. Technique: Do it well. Once you’ve decided on your way to being healthy, start getting good at it. In the Handbook of Competence and Motivation , Elliot and Dweck suggest that competence is an inherent psychological need for all of us. The desire to become effective and capable can be a driving force in promoting health.

You may choose to sharpen your culinary skills, develop expertise in your favorite sport, or strengthen your self-discipline. Whatever your approach, enhancing your technique in pursuing competence can help you stay motivated. The better you become at being healthy, the more you’ll want to stick to it.

3. Relatedness: Do it together. Feeling close to and valued by others is vital for maintaining your motivation to be healthy. Social relatedness in pursuing a healthy lifestyle can come in many forms. For example, a Danish study of patients with Type 2 Diabetes found that sustainable progress after a health intervention was enhanced by supportive communities, such as belonging to an exercise group or continual peer support.

Other studies have also shown that peer or familial support can increase physical activity and fruit and vegetable intake. Choosing to exercise with friends, sharing your meal plans with family, or seeking positive support can help you stay motivated.

4. External awareness: Understand your circumstances. Being aware of your environment and personal circumstances can help you stay grounded in your health expectations. It is important to note that, despite highlighting the importance of autonomy, some aspects of health remain out of your control. Most of us can’t simply change where we live or work to maximize our health. The range of possible health outcomes we will experience is tied to the limits of our genes and past experiences, and the political and environmental changes around us.

You’re almost certainly not going to win the highly coveted healthiest human award. That said, if you can make the most of the existential cards you were dealt, you may be in the running for the equally prestigious "Best version of you " category.

5. Novelty: Mix it up. The initial enthusiasm you feel for any activity will inevitably fade away. This is not to say that your overall motivation to stay healthy should also dimmish. Looking for creative tweaks to shake up your food and exercise routines can prevent things from going stale. This might be as simple as inviting a friend to join your workout or buying your groceries from a different store. The internet is a boundless source of quirky new twists for even the most basic healthy pursuits.

6. Goal setting: Set clear, controllable, intrinsically rewarding goals. How you set your goals is likely to determine whether or not you can achieve them. Research into motivation and reward mechanisms suggests we should focus more on positively framed goals rather than striving to avoid negative outcomes. Goals should be intrinsic rather than extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is when you act for the inherent enjoyment of what you are doing.

Choose to pursue the exercise that brings you the most enjoyment, and choose the foods that make you feel good (not just in the moment). Sometimes your pursuit of a goal may involve temporarily unpleasant activities, like the final 10 minutes of your workout. But aligning your choices with intrinsically motivated goals (such as the goal to feel vibrant and energized) is more likely to bring sustainable success than externally driven goals (such as seeking the approval of others).

7. Tenacity: Be tenacious. Angela Duckworth’s work on grit emphasizes consistency of interest and perseverance of effort as key ingredients to success. This encapsulates "tenacity," the persistence in maintaining or seeking something valued or desired. This quality has been associated with successful aging by predicting higher energy and general health measures as we get older. There will undoubtedly be times when the world feels against us, and we are tempted to abandon our goals. Fostering the ability to be tenacious in our pursuit of health can help us weather the storm.

8. Honesty: Be truthful about what you’ve done, what you’re doing, and what you’d like to achieve. There is indeed an objective reality to the state of our health. However, our experiences of health are often driven by the stories we tell ourselves. Whether we bury our heads in the sand or blame bad luck to justify our inaction. Whatever we tell ourselves, we are the authors, protagonists, narrators, and readers of our own health stories.

If we are honest about our experiences, our efforts in the present, and our hopes for the future, we stand a better chance of sticking to tasks in the pursuit of a healthy life.

Richard Brown is a research psychologist investigating differences in health behaviors and how to promote healthier living.

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10 Ways to Promote Community Health and Well-Being

The health and well-being of a community are fundamental to its overall prosperity and quality of life. In an era where health is increasingly recognized as a comprehensive concept, encompassing physical, mental, and social dimensions, communities are seeking innovative ways to promote holistic well-being among their residents. The approach to fostering a healthy community is multifaceted, involving a range of strategies that encourage active lifestyles, mental wellness, and social cohesion.

This article delves into ten effective ways communities can enhance the health and happiness of their members, providing a blueprint for creating environments where everyone can thrive. These strategies are not just for health professionals or policymakers; they are insights that anyone invested in the welfare of their community can pursue.

Establish Community Gardens

Community gardens are more than just plots of land for growing food; they’re vibrant social ecosystems that promote a healthy lifestyle. They encourage physical activity and offer educational opportunities about sustainable agriculture and healthy eating. These gardens can become focal points for community events, workshops on organic farming, and forums for sharing gardening tips. They also provide a space for intergenerational learning, where elders can pass on gardening wisdom to younger members, fostering a sense of continuity and community heritage.

Promote Public Health Education

Supporting local residents in pursuing masters of public health programs online , such as those offered by Augusta University, can have a long-term positive impact on community health. These programs can produce local health leaders who are deeply familiar with their community’s specific health challenges and needs. Graduates can bring back valuable knowledge and skills to implement effective health initiatives, conduct research, and influence policy changes at a local level. Scholarships, local library resources, and community awareness about these programs can increase accessibility for potential students.

Implement Walkable City Initiatives

Creating a walkable community goes beyond just constructing sidewalks. It involves designing safe, attractive, and accessible pedestrian routes that connect key areas like schools, parks, and shopping centers. Hosting ‘walk to school’ days or ‘community walk challenges’ can further promote walking as a fun and social activity. Additionally, engaging local businesses to support and participate in these initiatives can create a more cohesive and health-conscious community ethos.

Offer Free or Low-Cost Exercise Classes

Providing accessible fitness programs is crucial in addressing health disparities within a community. By organizing diverse exercise classes, such as dance, martial arts, or strength training, communities can cater to varied interests, making fitness enjoyable and inclusive. Partnering with local fitness instructors or sports clubs to offer these classes not only supports local businesses but also builds a network of health advocates within the community.

Facilitate Mental Health Support Groups

The availability of mental health support in a community is a key indicator of its overall well-being. Creating safe spaces where individuals can openly discuss their mental health challenges helps to destigmatize mental health issues. These groups can be supplemented with workshops on stress management, mindfulness , and coping strategies, offering practical tools for mental wellness. Collaborating with local mental health professionals can provide these groups with expert guidance and support.

Promote Nutritional Education

Nutritional education is a powerful tool in fostering a health-conscious community. Hosting cooking classes that teach how to prepare healthy, affordable meals can make a significant impact. Partnering with local nutritionists and dietitians to offer personalized guidance can also be beneficial. Moreover, initiatives like ‘healthy eating challenges’ or ‘community cook-offs’ can make nutrition education more engaging and fun, encouraging participation from all age groups.

Encourage Volunteerism

Volunteerism not only enriches the community but also enhances the mental and emotional well-being of volunteers. Encouraging people to engage in community service can foster a sense of accomplishment and connection. Community projects could include environmental clean-ups, mentoring programs for youth, or assistance in local shelters. Promoting corporate volunteer programs can also engage a wider audience in community service, reinforcing the bond between businesses and the community.

Develop Public Health Campaigns

Effective public health campaigns can dramatically improve community health literacy and practices. These campaigns should address prevalent health issues and promote healthy behaviors. Utilizing local media, social networking sites, and community events can increase their reach and impact. Involving local health professionals in these campaigns can lend credibility and ensure that the information is accurate and relevant. Tailoring campaigns to address the unique needs of different community segments, such as seniors, teenagers, or non-native speakers, can make them more effective.

Organize Health Screening Events

Health screening events are critical in early detection and prevention of diseases. These events can be made more effective by including follow-up resources and referrals for those who require further medical attention. Collaborating with local healthcare providers for these events can ensure professional oversight and credibility. Additionally, incorporating educational components on self-care practices and prevention can empower individuals to take an active role in their health.

Foster Green Spaces and Parks

Green spaces and parks are not just areas of natural beauty but are vital for the physical and mental health of the community. These spaces should be well-maintained and safe, encouraging people to use them regularly. Organizing community activities like outdoor fitness classes, nature walks, and family-friendly events in these spaces can increase their utilization. Involving the community in the design and planning of these spaces can ensure they meet the specific needs and preferences of local residents.

Promoting community health and well-being is a multifaceted and dynamic process that requires the collective effort of the entire community. By implementing these ten strategies, communities can take significant steps towards creating environments that support the holistic health of their residents. From nurturing community gardens to supporting public health education, each initiative contributes to building a healthier, more vibrant community. Remember, a community that prioritizes the health and well-being of its members is one that thrives and prospers.

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'Things have started to improve': Moscow residents share thoughts on the city's changes

From cycling infrastructure to public spaces, how do Moscow’s residents feel about the city’s urban renewal projects? Here they share their stories

The ‘Moscow experiment’ has seen the city undergo renewal efforts over the last five years to improve liveability. But what do Moscow’s residents really think about the changes? We asked you to share your stories of life in the Russian capital, and reflect on whether Moscow is changing for better or worse.

The city centre may be seeing improvements in infrastructure and public space, but what about the suburbs? How involved have local citizens been in the changes? And what does the future hold for Moscow? We’ve rounded up a selection of your GuardianWitness contributions , comments and emails, which reveal the everyday experiences of Moscow’s transformations:

About pedestrians and automobilists

Moscow has undergone massive change in the last five years, but the most obvious developments concern parks, streets, and general navigation in the capital. Most of the developments are surely positive: the city has seemed to get more air. There have appeared more walking paths, pedestrian zones have been expanded, some streets have been closed for traffic altogether, parks are being renovated, and new bicycle lanes are being offered now to city residents and its guests. However, there are negative changes as well, which have largely affected car owners: extension of the paid parking areas, and the increase of the average price, the need to navigate a bypass route in order to drive round pedestrian zones. But this coin has another side too: fewer cars in the centre means less exhaust fumes and cleaner air. Muscovites look forward to the old parks being renovated, and the new ones being opened. New plans make excited everyone: new metro stations, new roads, new bicycle lanes and pedestrian footpaths.

It's changing for better

Moscow is definitely changing for better now. As I see it, the authorities are trying to make a city a better place to live in, especially in remote residential neighborhoods, which is very good. Many parks were renovated, cycle lanes appeared. Moscow has become a nice place for long walks and cycling. The city has a lot to offer now including museums, and different events like exhibitons, summer outside activities and others. It's a pity that it takes so long but taking into account the size of the city and its population I can say the situation has changed even if compared to what it was like 4-6 years ago.

I grew up in Moscow and lived here until two years ago. My general impression is that the people making the decisions are trying to copy some European practices like bike rental, parks, etc, but the general success is limited. The streets still belong to drivers, not to pedestrians, to an unbelievable extent. Another thing is that street retail was banned in an attempt to improve the city. It works for the city centre, where retailers really spoiled the overall impression of the scene, but 80% of Moscow is not a city centre. And there, this removal makes your life more difficult. The positive trend is all these multiple festivals, exhibitions, etc, but the best of all these events were initiated by citizens, so I would say that it is due to improving integration of Muscovites into the global world. Overall, I should admit that I love my homeland, but there is still a far way to go to make the city as comfortable as it could be, and the incentives of the people in charge in many cases do not have a lot to do with the wellbeing of Muscovites. - Ekaterina Ivanova

In the city

Gorky central park of culture and leisure

Better, definitely.

I was born in Moscow, emigrated to the UK ten years ago, and have been coming back at least once a year ever since. Although it's hard to tell from only a short visit, I can definitely see improvement in the capital: public transport operates better, local government services are better organised, the streets are cleaner... in my old neighbourhood (a very working-class, high-immigrant community), there are more 'high-street' shops appearing, less potholes on the roads, new playgrounds, new trees being planted and even the occasional fountain being built. These things may seem little and shallow, but I can certainly see improvement in this sense, at least.

It’s better on the surface, but still has inclusion and institutional issues. What do I mean? I mean that no one really asked us, Moscow residents, about the changes being made in the city (although we really welcome a big part of them). And lack of inclusion and mutual trust between the residents is in the end the main problem of Moscow as a city and a community (in my opinion). You can build as much fancy stuff as the money allows you to but if the Muscovites do not trust each other and don’t consider this city to truly belong to them, it will never become a real city and will continue to exist as “a big village” with fancy parks, craft beer and bicycle service. - Sergey Kurakov

When you smiling

Moscow is beautiful with the history, but it's even more beautiful when history meets modern cultural programmes. This installation is a part of one of them. Such things can be seen in the city when we have holidays

The transformation of Gorky park was nice but it is now overly popular which means it is not so pleasant to go to. The boulevard ring has in the main been transformed and makes for a pleasant walk. The banks of the Moskva have been transformed and the walk from Red October down to Gorky park is now interesting, however I always feel that Moscow does not make as much as it's river as other cities (Paris or London for example) do. The area around modern tretyakov could be transformed into an area more like the south bank.

However the biggest killer of Moscow life are simply the size of the roads. They are everywhere and take priority over pedestrians. To really improve Moscow life would be deal with the massive structural change required for dealing with traffic. And that, unfortunately, costs more than plants.

I was born in Moscow and truly love it. And this city inspired me to take an urban planning course: I honestly just couldn’t figure out how one of the wealthiest cities in the whole world could experience such a plethora of problems ranging from car invasion to banal low visual and urban design culture. Many things have changed for the better. A lot of new creative things emerged, such as anti-cafes, high-quality bars and famous Moscow art-clusters. These all influence the city and make it somewhat more democratic. On top of that, there are more direct influences on its physical fabric due to new urban design studios like StrelkaKB, Wowhaus and many others. However, the overall system is still underdeveloped. Moscow is not really clean, it is over-reliant on cars and it seems not much action is taken to improve that; it’s incredibly unfriendly to wheelchairs and people of similar mobility. We still get enormous unnecessary shopping malls planted close to the centre. Moscow is a wonderful city and sure enough it is gradually developing, however, only in a discrete, tactical way, largely and mostly driven by private interests. The public sector, in turn, seems to provide no clear strategic policy to turn Moscow in a healthy modern democratic city with all its problems tackled in one way or another. - dmitryBooM

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April 8, 2016

Discover: Encore Fitness (Moscow)

MOSCOW, RUSSIA —  Encore Fitness, a new chain of health clubs in Russia, is opening a flagship fitness centre in Moscow.

The 3,900 sq ft venue, set to become the largest fitness club in Moscow City, will feature eight fitness zones based around the latest global trends and innovations.

A cardio theatre, functional training zone, Pilates studio, group fitness area, balance studio and a martial arts zone with a professional boxing ring will occupy the ground floor, with the second floor housing a spacious 25m pool with relaxation and hydro-massage areas.

The club’s unique thermal complex including a steam room, sauna, hammam, snow room and salt spa, will also be available to members.

Offering a diverse range of activities, over 60 different classes including BodyPump, TRX, and yoga will feature in the club’s extensive schedule. A new online heart rate monitoring system from Myzon will allow guests to get the most out of each and every workout.

Serving a range of healthy, well-balanced dishes alongside juices and detox cocktails, the club’s in-house cafe will cater to every fitness goal.

Discover more about Encore Fitness at:  www.encorefitness.ru

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• v.8; Jan-Dec 2022

Motivate me to exercise with you: The effects of social media fitness influencers on users’ intentions to engage in physical activity and the role of user gender

Julia durau.

1 Department of Media and Communications, University of Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt, Austria

Sandra Diehl

Ralf terlutter.

2 Department of Marketing and International Management, University of Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt, Austria

Social media fitness influencers are evolving into a new digital form of health communicators whom consumers might turn to for assistance with more physical activity and exercise at home, especially in the current COVID-19 crisis. Drawing from source credibility theory, social cognitive theory, protection motivation theory and literature on physical activity, physical fitness and gender, we analyse how male and female users’ evaluations of social media fitness influencers and user health-related variables impact intentions to exercise with the social media fitness influencer.

Two consecutive studies using male and female YouTube fitness influencers were carried out. Structural equation modelling was conducted to test the proposed models and estimate the path coefficients.

Study 1 ( N  = 507) shows that the respective influencer's perceived trustworthiness, expertise and attractiveness are important for the influencer's evaluation, and that it is the perceived motivating power rather than the attitude toward the influencer that increases intentions to exercise for male and female users. Study 2 ( N  = 445) extends Study 1 and shows that physical fitness, training involvement with YouTube fitness videos and lower health increase behavioural intentions. A more negative body image also raises intentions to exercise, but only among female users.

Social media fitness influencers who are perceived as trustworthy, as experts and as attractive, can be effective for increasing men's and women's physical activity. Perceived motivating power of the influencer emerged as a key variable that predicts intentions to exercise. User health-related variables have different effects on intentions to exercise for men and women.

Introduction

Social media has developed into a vital source of health information. It provides a communication channel in which users and health communicators can connect regarding various health-related aspects. One popular, health-related topic in many social media channels revolves around physical activity and fitness. 1 On YouTube, one of the most popular social media sites, users have access to videos in which social media fitness influencers demonstrate physical activities and try to motivate the users to mimic their workouts.

In times of globally decreasing levels of physical activity, with significantly negative implications for people's health, 2 – 4 it is highly important to find ways to encourage people to become more active. 5 , 6 Given their ability to reach a large audience, social media fitness influencers might be an important digital type of health communicator who could influence health behaviours. 7 – 9 This is even more apparent with COVID-19 spreading worldwide, which has provided a barrier for people's physical activity routines, as gyms or parks were closed. 10 During the pandemic, interest in online home workouts provided by digital and social media has increased, 11 , 12 with social media fitness influencers offering fitness workouts on their channels. 11 On YouTube, home workouts and instructional videos by social media fitness influencers are free, easy to access online, and often do not require any equipment. 11 Thus, exercising at home guided by social media fitness influencers allows individuals to maintain or improve their physical fitness in safety from home, which represents a great advantage in uncertain pandemic times.

While research interest in health and fitness communication and information on social media platforms 5 , 8 , 9 , 13 and on fitness apps 14 – 17 has increased in recent years, little is known about how social media fitness influencers impact users’ health-related behaviour. Our aim is to fill this research gap. Drawing from source credibility theory, social cognitive theory, protection motivation theory (PMT) and literature on physical activity, physical fitness and gender, we carry out two studies that shed light on the question of what makes a social media fitness influencer successful from the users’ perspectives. Study 1 investigates the impact of the influencers’ source credibility variables (perceived trustworthiness, expertise, and attractiveness) on the attitude toward the influencer, the influencer's perceived motivating power, and, in turn, on intentions to perform the advocated fitness behaviour. Study 2 extends the research and includes important user-related health and fitness variables (self-reported health, physical fitness, body image, physical fitness involvement, and training involvement with YouTube fitness videos). Since gender influences health information behaviour in many different ways, 18 the role of users’ gender is also investigated.

The research contributes to an improved understanding of how users might be motivated by social media fitness influencers to engage in physical activity. Hence, our research is relevant to users and social media fitness influencers as well as to health professionals.

Theoretical and empirical background

Social media fitness influencers as health communicators.

Social media influencers are individuals who communicate information through their social media accounts to their followers. Given their large reach, successful influencers are even considered online celebrity endorsers. 19 By sharing content about their lifestyle and engaging with their followers, social media influencers can influence the attitudes and behavioural intentions of their audiences, also regarding exercise. 9 , 20 , 21 If they specialize in physical activity and fitness content, they are labelled as social media fitness influencers.

According to source credibility theory, endorsers’ effectiveness in delivering messages to their target audience depends on several factors. The current research differentiates between the endorser's trustworthiness, expertise, and attractiveness as perceived by the users. 22 Trustworthiness describes the extent to which a respondent believes the endorser and the endorser's message 22 and has been identified as a key success factor of sources in early source credibility studies 23 and also more recently in influencer effectiveness studies. 19 , 24 , 25 Expertise describes the respective source's perceived competence. 22 For the acceptance of the endorser's information, it is not relevant whether the endorser is indeed an actual expert, but rather whether they are perceived as an expert. 26 – 28 Attractiveness refers to the physical appearance of the source. 27 The endorser's attractiveness is typically judged at the initial contact and influences the evaluation of the person. Considerable empirical research on the effects of celebrity and athlete endorsements has confirmed the importance of these three factors for successful communicators 26 , 29 , 30 and shown that higher levels of source trustworthiness, expertise, and attractiveness are typically beneficial for the source and lead to improved attitudes toward the source. Recently, studies have applied these source credibility constructs in social media influencer research, 19 , 25 , 31 , 32 albeit none of them were related to social media fitness influencers.

Since motivation plays a vital role in engaging individuals in physical activity 17 and a lack of motivation has been identified as a major reason for physical inactivity, 4 the motivating power attributed to the influencer is an important variable to consider. Perceived motivating power refers to how strongly users rate the influencer's capacity to encourage individuals to engage in physical activity. Hence, in the context of social media fitness influencers, we expect that trustworthiness, expertise, and attractiveness improve attitudes toward the social media fitness influencer and also increase the motivating power ascribed to the social media fitness influencer. Therefore, higher trustworthiness, expertise, and attractiveness are expected to be beneficial for the social media fitness influencer, and we hypothesize:

• H1: The higher the perceived (a) trustworthiness, (b) expertise and (c) attractiveness of the social media fitness influencer, the more favourable the attitude toward the social media fitness influencer.
• H2: The higher the perceived (a) trustworthiness, (b) expertise and (c) attractiveness of the social media fitness influencer, the higher the motivating power of the social media fitness influencer.

Motivation in particular has been identified as a key influence on exercise behaviours in non-social media contexts 33 , 34 and for fitness apps. 17 Exercise refers to planned, structured and repeated physical activities and is thus a subset of physical activity. 35 The extrinsic motivation to exercise can originate from friends and family or from role models. According to social cognitive theory, people learn by observing a model performing a certain behaviour, and the model behaviour can exert motivational influence on the individual. 36 , 37 By watching the behaviour's consequences, individuals memorize the model's behaviour as a behaviour option that might motivate future behaviour. Influencers can affect their followers’ decision-making and elicit positive effects on intentions to follow their advice 38 and motivate certain behaviours. Hence, if a social media fitness influencer elicits favourable attitudes and users attribute high motivating power to the influencer, the users’ intentions to exercise with the social media fitness influencer are expected to be higher. Thus, we propose:

• H3: The more favourable the attitude toward the social media fitness influencer, the higher the intention to exercise.
• H4: The greater the perceived motivating power of the social media fitness influencer, the higher the intention to exercise.

Moderating role of user gender on the effectiveness of social media fitness influencers

Gender has been determined as an important variable in the health and fitness area. 39 For instance, men are more motivated and more likely to engage in sports and are more physically active during their leisure time than women. 4 , 40 Women and men also differ in their motives for engaging in physical activity. While women are primarily interested in weight management or improving their health or physique, 33 , 41 men are more motivated to increase strength or endurance. 42 User gender might therefore moderate the proposed model relationships. To explore the role of users’ gender on the hypothesized relationships (see Figure 1 ), we analyse the following research question:

• RQ1: How does user gender moderate the hypothesized relationships?

Conceptual social media fitness influencer model.

The purpose of Study 1 was to investigate the impact of the influencer source credibility variables (perceived trustworthiness, expertise and attractiveness) on the attitude toward the influencer and the influencer's perceived motivating power and, consequently, on the users’ intentions to engage in physical activity, moderated by user gender, while controlling for influencer gender and user age ( Figure 1 ). Study 1 employed two existing YouTube fitness video clips featuring a German-speaking male and female social media fitness influencer. Relationships were tested simultaneously with multi-group structural equation modelling.

Stimuli selection and pre-tests

The first pre-test aimed at identifying the fitness video's workout topic. It should be popular among users and suitable for all people. The authors created a list of popular YouTube workout topics (such as strength training, cardio, abs or legs exercises). One hundred thirty-four respondents participated in a survey (non-student online sample, M age  = 28.28 years; 55.2% female) and rated their preferred workout topics. Ab exercises emerged as the most popular exercise topic for both groups (see Table 1 for details).

Table 1.

Pre-Test 1: variables with means and standard deviations per group.

The second pre-test aimed at selecting the video clips for the main study. Based on the results of Pre-test 1, the authors researched YouTube videos featuring ab exercises by popular German social media fitness influencers and selected relatively similar sets of videos for the female and male influencers. Twenty-seven undergraduate students (M age  = 21.24 years; 59.3% female) watched sets of male and female social media fitness influencers’ YouTube video clips and discussed each influencer's trustworthiness, expertise and attractiveness afterward. The final sets of the influencers’ videos showed similar ab workouts, and both influencers were perceived as trustworthy, experts and attractive. Both videos were cut to have the same length (47 s).

The third pre-test examined the suitability of the two videos (male version, female version) and the comprehensibility of the questionnaire. Twenty-five undergraduate students participated in the third pre-test (M age  = 22.56 years; 72% female). Participants evaluated the two videos as suitable and reported no difficulties in answering the questionnaire.

Participants

Main Study 1 was a survey study where only de-identified data was collected for which ethical approval is not required under European law. It was a study with human subjects that presents no greater than minimal risk to subjects. Before completing the questionnaire, the subjects were assured in written form of anonymous data collection (i.e. no identifiers can be connected to the data, either directly or through a coding system), of the entirely voluntary nature of participation and of the possibility of terminating the study at any time without consequences. The study meets the criteria of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Study 1 had a non-student sample with 507 participants (M age  = 30.75, from 18–68 years; 50.7% female). Data was collected in the German-speaking area with a structured online questionnaire. Participants were recruited by distributing the questionnaire online via the snowball principle and through the online consumer panel ClickWorker (similar to MTurk in the USA). This sampling procedure has been successfully applied by previous research. 43 Respondents received a small compensation (1 EURO) for participating in the survey.

The study had a cross-sectional, quasi-experimental 2 (male/female influencer) × 2 (male/female user) between-subject design. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the two fitness video clips (either version). They watched the video clip and then answered questions about the clip. Sociodemographic data on gender, age and nationality were collected at the end of the questionnaire.

Items were derived from existing multi-item scales when available and adapted to the research context. Table 2 reports the scale references, the items for all variables, their means, standard deviations, Cronbach α values for multi-item measures and Spearman-Brown coefficients for two-item measures. 44 Factor analyses were performed to investigate the one-dimensionality of the multi-item scales. Reliability analyses were conducted for all variables. Perceived trustworthiness, expertise and attractiveness were each measured with three items from the celebrity endorsement scale by Ohanian. 22 The scales achieved good reliability (trustworthiness: α  = 0.930; expertise α  = 0.949; attractiveness α  = 0.946). The motivating power ascribed to the influencer was assessed with the item “The influencer is motivating” (M = 4.03; SD = 1.625), adapted from Döring. 7 Attitude towards the influencer was measured with two items adapted from Pollay and Mittal. 45 (Spearman-Brown coefficient = 0.916) Two items adapted from Ajzen 46 assessed intention to exercise (Spearman-Brown coefficient = 0.953).

Table 2.

Study 1: variables with means and standard deviations per group.

Note . All items were measured on a 7-point Likert scale from 1 (“do not agree at all”) to 7 (“totally agree”).

Measurement model

Prior to testing the structural equation model (SEM), we conducted a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to assess the measurement model for the whole data set using IBM SPSS AMOS 25. Results yielded an acceptable overall model fit ( x 2 /df = 2.537, TLI = 0.977 CFI = 0.985, RMSEA = 0.055) and acceptable local fit measures. 47 Table 3 reports the average variance extracted (AVE), composite reliability and indicator reliability for all constructs and the test for discriminant validity, 48 which was supported as well.

Table 3.

Study 1: reliability and validity measures for variables (CFA), discriminant validity and squared construct correlations.

Note. AVE: average variance extracted; -: not applicable.

SEM results

The multi-group SEM resulted in an acceptable model fit ( x 2 /df = 2.091, CFI = 0.977, TLI = 0.968, RMSEA = 0.046) and was valid for female and male respondents. Trustworthiness had the strongest impact on attitude toward the social media fitness influencer for men and women (γ women  = 0.457, p  < 0.01; γ men  = 0.485, p  < 0.01). Expertise (γ women  = 0.261, p  < 0.05; γ men  = 0.265, p  < 0.05) and attractiveness (γ women  = 0.270, p  < 0.01; γ men  = 0.226, p  < 0.01) also yielded significant influence on the attitude toward the influencer for both groups. The results confirmed H1a-c. Trustworthiness was also the strongest predictor of motivating power for women (γ women  = 0.379, p  < 0.01; γ men  = 0.209, p  < 0.05), while the influencers’ expertise (γ women  = 0.194, p  < 0.05; γ men  = 0.413, p  < 0.01) was the strongest predictor of motivating power for men. Attractiveness also influenced motivating power significantly for both genders (γ women  = 0.294, p  < 0.01; γ men  = 0.270, p  < 0.01). H2a-c was also confirmed by the data.

Interestingly, attitude toward the influencer had no effect on the participants’ intentions to perform physical activity (γ women  = 0.078, not significant (n.s.); γ men  = 0.023, n.s.), disproving H3, while motivating power led to higher intentions to perform physical activity for both genders (γ women  = 0.541, p  < 0.01; γ men  = 0.518, p  < 0.01), confirming H4. Regarding the control variables, the influencer's gender had no significant effect on behavioural intentions, either for male or female users (γ women  = −0.008, n.s.; γ men  = −0.007, n.s.). User age had a significant positive effect on intentions to exercise for men (γ men  = 0.129, p  < 0.05), but no significant effect for women (γ women  = −0.016, n.s.).

We conducted pairwise comparisons to test for significant differences between female and male users in the model relationships. The impact of expertise on motivating power was slightly stronger among males than females at the 10% level. The path from user age to intention to exercise differed on the 10% level as well ( z -value >|1.65|). Overall, the model and its relationships were very similar for both genders. Table 4 displays the path coefficients, significance, and pairwise comparison results.

Table 4.

Study 1: SEM results.

Note . *** p  < 0.01; ** p  < 0.05; * p  < 0.10.

Discussion of study 1

The results of Study 1 imply that social media fitness influencers’ trustworthiness is more important for users’ attitude toward the influencer than social media fitness influencers’ expertise and attractiveness. With regard to perceived motivating power, trustworthiness is the most relevant variable for women. Among men, expertise is more important than the other source credibility variables. Attractiveness is less important for both genders. Another important result of Study 1 is that the attitude toward the influencer is largely irrelevant for users’ intentions to exercise, while the motivating power attributed to the influencer is the key to positively influencing users’ intentions to exercise for both groups.

Impact of user health and fitness variables on the intention to engage in physical activity

Study 1 explored the roles that social media fitness influencers’ trustworthiness, expertise and attractiveness play in female and male users’ intentions to follow the advocated physical activity and investigated whether the users’ gender matters. In the following, we extend the model with the important health and fitness variables: self-reported health, physical fitness, body image, physical fitness involvement and training involvement with YouTube fitness videos. We expect that these variables might impact users’ intentions to engage in the advocated physical activity. We are again interested in the question of whether the user's gender moderates the model relationships. Figure 2 displays the final conceptual social media fitness influencer model. The variables and relationships will be elaborated in the following paragraphs.

Extended conceptual social media fitness influencer model.

A variable that is likely to play a role in users’ intentions to exercise with a social media fitness influencer is users’ health status . 49 While a person's health status is undoubtedly complex and multi-faceted, 50 , 51 individuals typically judge their perceived health as a single assessment (e.g. “good” or “poor”), that is, instead of evaluating different facets of their health separately, individuals often assess their overall health status. This summary assessment is referred to as self-reported health and is commonly used to measure one's perceived health status. 52 , 53 In a social media fitness influencer setting, we expect lower self-reported health to lead to increased intentions to perform physical activity with the social media fitness influencer's video. We draw our rationale from PMT 54 which is a major health psychology theory that aims at gaining a better understanding of the cognitive processes inherent to adopting health-related behaviours, for example physical activity. PMT suggests that when individuals perceive a threat, they appraise possible coping mechanisms that help them to remove the threat. 54 – 56 We assume that individuals likely perceive a low health status as threatening and therefore try to engage in coping mechanisms. One way to cope is by engaging in physical activity that contributes positively to one's health 55 and can easily be carried out. Two reviews 55 , 56 and several empirical studies in different contexts on PMT and physical activity 57 , 58 suggest that the PMT can predict health-related behaviours. Emulating exercises performed by social media fitness influencers promises relatively easy improvements of one's health status. Social media fitness influencers usually demonstrate exercise behaviours that are not too difficult to carry out and exercises can be performed at home; hence, they are fairly easy to realize. Thus, we hypothesize:

• H5: The lower the individual‘s self-reported health, the higher the intention to exercise.

Physical fitness can be considered as a set of attributes that are either health- or skill-related and that people have or achieve. 35 Health-related components of physical fitness include cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular endurance, muscular strength, body composition and flexibility, while skill-related attributes include agility, balance, coordination, power, speed and reaction time, which can be assessed by physical tests. 35 , 59 Usually, the health-related components are the focus of empirical studies on fitness. 35 , 59

We also focus on the health-related components and follow the notion that physical fitness is a state of well-being with low risk of premature health problems and the ability to participate in a variety of physical activities, 59 , 60 which is a desirable state for individuals. Physical fitness can be achieved through (sustained) physical activity. Ortega et al. 61 showed that individuals’ self-reported overall fitness was strongly associated with their actual overall fitness (as measured by objective laboratory tests). We focus on the perceived overall fitness of individuals. It is also an individual characteristic that can influence exercise intentions. 62 Lower perceived physical fitness probably leads to higher intentions to exercise with the fitness influencers in order to improve one's own physical fitness, similar to the effect of the health status on the intention to exercise. Following the PMT, individuals may again perceive their low physical fitness as a threat to their overall health and again develop intentions for counteractive behaviours, such as the intention to exercise to reduce such threats.

Social media fitness influencers promise a relatively convenient way to improve one's physical fitness by emulating the influencer's workout from home, which might be particularly attractive to individuals with lower fitness capabilities, because they can exercise at their own pace without being observed by others. We hypothesize:

• H6: The lower the individual‘s physical fitness, the higher the intention to exercise.

Body image is a multidimensional construct that refers to perceptions, feelings, thoughts and behaviours about one's body and can range from positive to negative. 63 Body image mirrors how satisfied or dissatisfied a person feels about their shape and weight. Exercise has been shown to improve body image. 64 In fitness-related image-based social media, the ideal female body is typically portrayed as thin, fit and athletic, 65 , 66 while the ideal male body is presented as muscular, toned and lean. 67 Social media fitness influencers with such an ideal body are likely to influence body-related perceptions and behaviours, such as physical activity, with potential positive and negative outcomes. 37 , 66 Negative outcomes of social media use in relation to body image (e.g. body image concerns, body dissatisfaction, disordered eating) have been investigated by a large body of research. 66 , 68 , 69 However, exercise might have positive effects on one's body image as well, 64 since individuals might develop positive expectations in relation to their health (e.g. getting fit, having a well-trained healthy body), particularly if the goal seems achievable, 21 which, in turn, encourages an engagement in physical activity and exercise. Hence, lower body image might increase exercise intentions with the social media fitness influencer. Influencers are often considered as peers and their positive fitness results might seem achievable and motivating, 21 , 70 because individuals are likely to expect an improvement of their bodies’ appearance in relation to their health through exercise. Therefore, we assume – similar to the proposed effects of health status and physical fitness on intention to exercise – that a lower body image increases exercise intentions, since social media fitness influencers encourage users to exercise and create a positive body image by developing a healthy and fit body. We postulate:

• H7: The lower the individual‘s body image, the higher the intention to exercise.

Involvement is a central construct for predicting and understanding behaviour. 71 Physical fitness involvement refers to a person's general concern about and interest in physical fitness and how important achieving physical fitness is to the individual. 72 , 73 As stated previously, physical fitness is considered a desired health outcome of physical activity. 35 , 62 Physical fitness involvement has been shown to successfully predict exercise and leisure behaviours. 73 , 74 For instance, individuals with higher physical fitness involvement were found to be more likely to engage in related behaviours, such as physical activity. 72 , 75 An elevated physical fitness involvement can be seen as a prerequisite for exercise intention, as it indicates a general interest in sport exercises. We hypothesize:

• H8: The higher the individual‘s physical fitness involvement, the higher the intention to exercise.

In the context of YouTube fitness videos, training involvement with YouTube fitness videos – a more specific form of physical fitness involvement – might influence intentions to exercise as well. If YouTube fitness video training plays a significant role in an individual's life, this involvement might then positively influence the user's intention to perform a fitness workout. 62 Thus, we hypothesize:

• H9: The higher the individual‘s training involvement with YouTube fitness videos, the higher the intention to exercise.

The purpose of Study 2 was to test the extended model relationships. As in Study 1, relationships were tested simultaneously with multi-group SEM. Study 2 used different videos, but the same influencers as in Study 1, and again featured ab exercises. Two pre-tests were conducted to select the stimuli.

Stimuli selection and pre-test

The first pre-test was a guided interview with the aim of selecting a different set of video clips featuring the same influencers as in Study 1. The authors researched YouTube fitness videos with a focus on abs from the two social media fitness influencers. Eleven subjects (M age  = 24.18 years) watched 3 × 2 (male vs female) YouTube social media fitness influencer video clips performing the same ab exercise. Then, they evaluated their attitude toward the influencers with a paper-and-pencil questionnaire. Afterwards, influencers’ trustworthiness, expertise, attractiveness and motivation were discussed in the group. The final two videos (male version, female version) had the most favourable and similar results. They were cut to the same length of 22 s.

The second pre-test (student sample, N  = 25, M age  = 20.92 years) aimed at confirming the suitability of the stimuli and the comprehensibility of the online questionnaire. Participants reported no difficulties in answering the questionnaire and evaluated the clips as suitable.

Consistent with Study 1, Study 2 presented no greater than minimal risk to subjects and participants were assured in written form of anonymous data collection, of the entirely voluntary nature of participation and of the option to end the study at any time without consequences. Again, the criteria of the European GDPR were met.

Study 2 had a non-student sample with 445 participants (M age  = 29.6, from 16–63 years; 55.3% female). Data was collected with a structured online questionnaire in the German-speaking area. As in Study 1, participants were recruited online via the snowball principle and through the online consumer panel ClickWorker. Again, respondents received a small compensation (1 EURO) for their participation.

The study had a cross-sectional, quasi-experimental 2 (male/female influencer) × 2 (male/female user) within-subject design. Each participant randomly watched one fitness video clip (the female or male version first), answered questions about it, then watched the other video clip and completed questions about it. Respondents reported sociodemographic data (gender, age, nationality) at the end of the questionnaire.

Study 2 included the same constructs as Study 1 (trustworthiness, expertise, attractiveness, attitude towards the influencer, motivating power, behavioural intention, age and gender) and the additional health and fitness variables. As in Study 1, items were measured on a 7-point-Likert scale from 1 (“do not agree at all”) to 7 (“totally agree”). Factor analyses were conducted to ensure the one-dimensionality of the multi-item scales. Reliability analyses were performed for all variables. All scales had acceptable Cronbach-Alpha values and Spearman-Brown coefficients, respectively. Items, mean values, standard deviations and reliability values of Study 2 are displayed in Table 5 .

Table 5.

Study 2: variables with means and standard deviations per group.

Note. All items were measured on a 7-point Likert scale from 1 (“do not agree at all”) to 7 (“totally agree”).

Study 1 identified motivating power as a key variable that predicts intentions to exercise, measured with one item. In Study 2, the authors decided to measure motivating power with three items for a more solid measurement ( α  = 0.899). Self-reported health was measured with one item adapted from Stokols et al. 76 Subjects were asked for their level of agreement to the statement “My overall health is good” (M = 5.48, SD = 1.372). Physical fitness was measured with two items adapted from the German version of the International Fitness Scale. 61 (Spearman-Brown coefficient = 0.895) Body image was measured with two items from the Body Appreciation Scale. 63 (Spearman-Brown coefficient = 0.911) Physical fitness involvement (Spearman-Brown coefficient = 0.954) and training involvement with YouTube fitness videos (Spearman-Brown coefficient = 0.944) were each measured with two items adapted from Zaichkowsky. 71

In order to assess the measurement model, we carried out a CFA using IBM SPSS AMOS 25. Results yielded an acceptable model fit. 47 ( x 2 /df = 3.807, CFI = 0.970, TLI = 0.957, RMSEA = 0.056). The local fit measures AVE, indicator reliability, composite reliability and discriminant validity fulfilled the psychometric requirements (see Table 6 ).

Table 6.

Study 2: reliability and validity measures for variables (CFA), discriminant validity and squared construct correlations.

Note . AVE: average variance extracted; -: not applicable.

The hypotheses were tested simultaneously with multi-group SEM. We analysed the conceptual model with the extended measurement of motivating power and the control variables influencer gender and user age ( Figure 2 ). Again, two groups were analysed (male vs female respondents) to investigate the moderating effects of user gender. The results of the multi-group SEM yielded an acceptable model fit ( x 2 /df = 2.222, CFI = 0.969, TLI = 0.963, RMSEA = 0.037).

Trustworthiness, expertise and attractiveness had significant effects on attitude toward the influencer and motivating power, which subsequently had significant positive impacts on intentions to exercise for men and women. As in Study 1, H1a-c and H2a-c were confirmed. Trustworthiness had the strongest effect on attitude toward the influencer for both groups (γ women  = 0.577, p  < 0.01; γ men  = 0.656, p  < 0.01). Expertise had the strongest influence on motivating power for women (γ women  = 0.347, p  < 0.01), while trustworthiness had the highest impact on motivating power for men (γ men  = 0.428, p  < 0.01). Attitude toward the influencer had significant positive effects on intentions to exercise for women (γ women  = 0.198, p  < 0.01), but not for men (γ men  = 0.063, n.s.), leading to partial support for H3. Motivating power (γ women  = 0.271, p  < 0.01; γ men  = 0.431, p  < 0.01) yielded significant positive effects on intentions to exercise for both genders, confirming H4. Self-reported health had a significant negative effect on behavioural intentions for men and women (for women only at a 10% level) (γ women  = −0.094, p  < 0.10; γ men  = −0.190, p  < 0.05), confirming H5. Physical fitness yielded a significant positive effect on intentions to exercise for both groups (γ women  = 0.137, p  < 0.05; γ men  = 0.217, p  < 0.05), rejecting H6. Body image had a significant negative effect on intentions to exercise for women, but not for men (γ women  = −0.180, p  < 0.05; γ men  = −0.068, n.s.). Thus, H7 was confirmed for women, but not for men. Involvement with physical fitness had a significant, yet negative, effect on intentions to exercise for women (γ women  = −0.089, p  < 0.05), but suggested no significant effect for men (γ men  = 0.055, n.s.), rejecting H8 for both groups. Training involvement with YouTube fitness videos positively influenced intentions to exercise for male and female users (γ women  = 0.431, p  < 0.01; γ men  = 0.426, p  < 0.01), confirming H9. The control variable, influencer gender, again had no significant effect on the behavioural intentions of women and men (γ women  = −0.056, n.s.; γ men  = 0.006, n.s.). User age had a significant negative effect on intentions to exercise for women but had no significant effect for men (γ women  = −0.079, p  < 0.05; γ men  = 0.007, n.s.).

We conducted pairwise comparisons to test for significant differences between the path coefficients of male and female users. The paths from trustworthiness, expertise and attractiveness to motivating power; from motivating power to intentions to exercise; and from physical fitness involvement to intentions to exercise implied significant group differences ( z -value >|1.96|). The path from attitude to intention to exercise differed on a 10% level ( z -value >|1.65|). Table 7 exhibits the path coefficients, significances and critical ratios.

Table 7.

Study 2: SEM results.

Discussion and implications

This research aimed to examine whether and how social media fitness influencers can be successful health communicators and which factors lead to higher intentions of users to engage in physical activity. We analysed how the social media fitness influencer's trustworthiness, expertise and attractiveness influence the attitude toward the influencer and the motivating power that users ascribe to the influencer, how these variables, in turn, influence users’ intentions to exercise, and whether users’ gender affects these relationships. Furthermore, five user-related health and fitness variables were included in the analysis. Our findings from two empirical studies contribute to our understanding of how users evaluate social media fitness influencers, what makes a social media fitness influencer successful from the users’ perspective, and which variables lead to encouraging respondents’ intention to engage in (more) physical activity. Therefore, this study extends research on source credibility to the context of social media fitness influencers. The findings of the two studies show that trustworthiness, expertise and attractiveness help to understand how social media fitness influencers might contribute to motivating users to engage in physical activity. Social media fitness influencers have established themselves as influential in the health and fitness scene. 9 , 21 Extending previous research findings on source credibility of social media influencers, 19 , 25 , 31 , 32 this research confirms the high relevance of these three factors especially for social media fitness influencers.

Trustworthy, expert and attractive influencers might be effective health communicators in the digital world and might contribute to increasing physical activity 2 , 3 by motivating people to exercise at home. This research further highlights the positive effects that social media 8 , 77 and social media fitness influencers might have on users. 9 , 21 Increasing physical exercise and thus contributing to individuals’ health via digital and social media seems especially important when gyms and fitness clubs are subject to access restrictions, as in the COVID-19 pandemic. 10 , 11

Among the source credibility variables, the influencers’ trustworthiness appeared to be particularly important for all participants in relation to attitude formation toward the social media fitness influencers in both studies. This finding corroborates previous research that identified trustworthiness as a central influencer characteristic. 19 , 25 Notably, in both studies, the influencers’ motivating power had a stronger impact on the intention to exercise than the attitude toward the influencer in both studies, indicating that perceived motivating power is a key variable for intentions to exercise for men and women. Following social cognitive theory, 36 users’ observations of the influencer's exercise behaviour might indeed increase motivation to work out, when the influencer's behaviour is evaluated as a promising behavioural option. A favourable attitude toward the influencer played a less important role.

While perceived motivating power emerged as a key variable for exercise intentions, several health and fitness variables showed effects on exercise intentions as well. Users’ lower self-reported health indicated higher intentions to exercise. Apparently, in line with the PMT, 55 , 56 if subjects consider their health to be rather poor and perceive the risk of possible diseases as a threat to their own health, they seem to be more inclined to engage in appropriate coping behaviours, that is, physical activity, with the goal of improving their health. Therefore, individuals appear to be aware of the fact that engaging in regular physical activity is beneficial for their health. 78

Contrary to what was predicted, physical fitness positively affected users’ intentions to exercise. It seems that a certain level of physical fitness is regarded as a prerequisite for intention to exercise. Thus, a more positive evaluation of one's own physical fitness is likely to positively affect intentions to exercise with a fitness video. By positively addressing users’ physical fitness, for instance, by complimenting the level of physical fitness already achieved as an outcome of regular physical activity, social media fitness influencers might actually be able to increase users’ motivation to exercise. If users then perceive their own fitness as higher, they are probably more motivated to continue exercising.

Body image exerted a significant negative influence on the motivation to exercise for female users, but not for male users; that is, a lower body image among women indicated higher intentions to exercise. Previous research has suggested that exposure to fit and thin fitness models might have both positive and negative health effects. 79 , 80 Negative effects can, for instance, result from comparisons with well-trained models that lead to dissatisfaction with one's own appearance. Positive effects can result when the models inspire individuals to pursue healthy lifestyle behaviours by imitating the models. 66 In our study, women with lower body image reported increased intentions to exercise after viewing the fitness influencer's video. Thus, while watching the influencer and the exercise, positive expectations in relation to their own body shape might have arisen. Apaolaza-Ibáñez et al. 81 were able to demonstrate for cosmetics that women gain a positive feeling from using cosmetics, as they do everything they can for their appearance, and thus experience a feeling of relief from dissatisfaction with their physical appearance. This might also hold true for physical activity and one's own body image. By exercising with the influencer, women might experience less dissatisfaction with their body image. This effect certainly warrants additional research. For men, body image seems to be less relevant for working out with a fitness video, pointing in the same direction as prior research that indicates that men tend to pay less attention to social norms about their physical appearance than women. 80

Interestingly, physical fitness involvement had no effect among male users and a negative effect among female users on their exercise intentions. While previous research in other contexts found positive effects of physical fitness involvement on exercise intentions, 73 , 75 our results indicate that physical fitness involvement does not predict motivations to work out with social media fitness influencers. Possibly, physical fitness involvement is too general to predict higher and more positive intentions to exercise with a YouTube fitness influencer. It might be that users see other physical activities as better suited to achieve their physical fitness goals. Training involvement with YouTube fitness videos, a more specific measurement of involvement, yielded the expected positive results for both groups. Men and women who are involved in social media fitness influencer YouTube training sessions and consider such fitness videos to be important for their lifestyle indicated higher intentions to conduct their workouts with such videos.

In summary, our research suggests that social media fitness influencers who are evaluated as trustworthy, as experts, as attractive, and as having a high perceived motivating power might indeed be effective for increasing people's intention to engage in physical activity (i.e. exercising at home with social media fitness influencers) and thus might improve the physical condition and health of users via digital media. The motivating power of the influencer emerged as a central variable for predicting intentions to exercise, rather than the attitude towards the influencer. Physical fitness, (lower) health status, and training involvement with YouTube fitness videos were found to be important for men's and women's exercise intentions. Body image and physical fitness involvement had different effects on intentions to exercise reported by both groups.

Limitations and directions for future research

Beyond our study's important contributions, there are some limitations. One limitation of this research is that we employed German-speaking influencers in both studies. Future research might benefit from examining the developed social media fitness influencer model in an international context, for instance, in other countries with other social media fitness influencers. Additionally, our study analysed one fitness activity for one specific body area. Future research might want to examine other fitness activities and different body areas. Investigating gender differences in relation to other workouts could provide new discoveries.

This research identified perceived motivating power as a central influencing factor on intentions to exercise and analysed the influence of five important health and fitness variables on behavioural intentions. Beyond the source credibility variables trustworthiness, expertise and attractiveness, that we applied in our study, there might be additional source variables that have an influence on respondents’ attitude formations and the social media fitness influencers’ perceived motivating power. Apart from attitude and motivating power, there might be further variables that could influence users’ behavioural intentions.

As some of our results showed gender-related differences, it might be interesting to explore the reasons for these differences in more detail.

We focused on how social media fitness influencers might increase users’ intentions to become physically active. Future research might examine actual physical activity planning and behaviour 10 , 82 , 83 with social media fitness influencers’ video content. Future research should also elaborate on the causal relationship between the variables and whether the successful achievement of regular physical activity is also important to increase or maintain an individual's intention to exercise. We measured the overall fitness perception. Though Ortega et al. 61 showed that the overall self-reported fitness is a good indicator for the actual physical fitness measured through objective laboratory tests, future studies might want to use objective tests for measurement and might also analyse different forms of physical fitness such as cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, speed, agility and flexibility. 35 , 61 Future research may also apply methods such as experiments and conduct longitudinal studies.

Contributorship: JD researched literature and all authors jointly conceived the study. JD collected and analysed the data. SD and RT provided input into the study design and data analysis. JD wrote the first draft of the manuscript. SD and RT reviewed and edited the manuscript. JD integrated the feedback into the manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.

Conflict of interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Ethical approval: Ethical approval was not required for this study under European law. The study meets the criteria of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Funding: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The authors acknowledge the financial support by the University of Klagenfurt.

Guarantor: JD.

ORCID iD: Julia Durau https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5001-8319

2018 Primetime Emmy & James Beard Award Winner

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