Research on physical activity and exercise in the elderly is limited. This study used the Participation Motivation Questionnaire for Older Adults (PMQOA) to assess reasons for engaging in regular physical activity of participants at the 2007 Huntsman World Senior Games. The 259 subjects ranged from ages 50 to 85 years and were divided into tertiles based on frequency of exercise, determined by self reported weekly exercise time and days for further comparison. The most commonly reported reasons for exercise were to stay healthy, keep physically fit, and stay in shape. A previously conducted factor analysis on the PMAOQ revealed six underlying factors given for engaging in regular exercise: social, fitness, recognition, challenge/benefits, medical and involvement. Analysis of variance indicated significant differences in reasons for exercise between exercise tertiles and three factors; social, fitness, and challenge/benefits. There were also significant differences in reasons given for exercise between gender for the medical and social factors. Bivariate correlations indicated associations between both fitness perceptions and BMI with some PMQOA factors. Additionally, significant correlations were found between the six PMQOA factors, the strongest being between challenge/benefits and recognition, involvement, and social.

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