Incentives and barriers to physical activity for working women

The purpose of this study was to examine incentives and barriers working women experience in attempting to incorporate regular physical activity into their lives. This study evaluates the role of the workplace in encouraging physical activity for female employees. In attempts to encourage physical activity, corporations have provided worksite exercise facilities for their employees' use. In addition to convenience, the worksite has been suggested to be a positive setting for the promotion of physical activity among employees because of existing channels of communication, opportunities for support, and established corporate standards of behavior.(1) To examine the effectiveness of the workplace in promoting physical activity, this study uses Prochaska's stages-of-change model, which consists of stages people progress through when attempting to start or stop a behavior.(2) These stages of change define not only behavior, but also behavioral intention. They include precontemplation (no intention to change, denying the need to change), contemplation (intention to change), preparation (making small changes), action (regularly engaged in change), and maintenance (continuation of change efforts). Movement through these stages often follows a cyclical pattern, during which people make many attempts to change before reaching their goal.(2).