The Role of Social Physique Anxiety, Social Support, and Perceived Benefits and Barrier to Exercise in All-Female Fitness Camp Intervention

Only 3.2% of Americans ages 20-59 years meet the minimum recommended volume of exercise suggestions. In addition to the substantial percentage of people who fail to meet exercise requirements, only 15% of American adults engage in exercise on a regular basis, i.e. exercising for twenty minutes at least three times per week to improve health. (Schrop, Pendleton, McCord, Gil, Stockton, McNatt, & Gilchrist, 2006). Although the small proportion of those who reach the suggested physical activity levels is a topic of concern for adults, the CDC reports that physical inactivity levels are even higher for females than those of males. In 2008, only 42% of women 18 years and older met the minimal federal levels of aerobic activity through leisure-time aerobic activity (CDC, 2008). Thus, this statistic is distressing as American women are not able to reap the physical and psychological benefits of regular exercise activity. Therefore, the typically underserved population of women should be studied in order to identify what inhibits women from partaking in equivalent amounts of physical activity to males and reaching the minimum federal standards (Huberty et al., 2008)