Exercise Adherence among Older Adults: Challenges and Strategies

This short paper gives a good review of the challenges facing researchers in the area of exercise adherence. Researchers aim to encourage people to exercise or take part in physical activity at a level sufficient to enable them to enjoy the associated health benefits. However as Dishman (1994) reports within six months of starting an exercise program the drop-out rate can be as high as 50%. My current research project involves an intervention which attempts to utilize Social Comparison Theory to increase adherence. Hopefully I will post some interim results here soon. Get the article here

Chao D, Foy CG, & Farmer D (2000). Exercise adherence among older adults: challenges and strategies. Controlled clinical trials, 21 (5 Suppl) PMID: 11018578