Factors Influencing Regular Exercise Habits of Women in Taiwan

Abstract

This study employed Taiwanese women aged ≥18 years as the population and investigated their exercise habits, as well as the behavioral factors affecting such habits. In research on exercise, the relationship between exercise and sex is a crucial topic, and this relationship affects exercise promotion. Women’s exercise habits are influenced by traditional gender ideology, and women have long been excluded and treated unfairly in the realm of exercise. The study data were collected from a representative sample of 1113 Taiwanese women who participated in the 2011 Taiwan Social Change Survey (sixth phase, second wave). After removing missing values, the data of 1028 participants (46.39 ± 16.90 years) were analyzed. The results indicated that nearly half of the women had an exercise habit (48.3%). Those who were older, lived in a city (i.e., an area with a high level of urbanization), had a full-time job, had more favorable self-reported physical condition, and had enough income to meet their daily needs, were more likely to have an exercise habit.