The relationship between the stages of exercise adoption and other health behaviors

Purpose. To examine the relationship between stage of exercise adoption and the practice of other health behaviors. Design. Demographic, socioeconomic, and health behavior data were collected using a cross-sectional mail survey. Data were collected as part of a larger employee benefits research study. Setting. Montana State University-Bozeman, Bozeman, Montana. Subjects. University employees (n = 1269) comprised of 46% men with a mean age of 44 years. Measures. Demographic and socioeconomic data included age, sex, marital status, level of income and education, dependent status, and job classification. Stage of exercise adoption classifications were based on self-reported responses to four exercise statements. The health behaviors included in this study were cigarette and smokeless tobacco use, seat belt use, alcohol use, and use of stress management practices. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine if stage of exercise predicted the presence of each of the health behaviors while controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, and other health behavior variables. Results. The survey response rate was 68%. Respondents in action exercise stage (p = .0367) were less likely to smoke cigarettes than respondents in precontemplation stage of exercise. Respondents in contemplation (p =.0419), preparation (p =.0060), action (p = .0432), and maintenance (p =.0006) were more likely to use seat belts than respondents in precontemplation, Respondents in maintenance(p =.0059) were more likely to use regular stress reduction techniques than respondents in precontemplation. Conclusions. Although longitudinal research is needed to determine any causal relationships, this research suggests that encouraging individuals to become more involved in exercise could indirectly influence other health behaviors. Hence, exercise could be a possible "gateway" behavior toward healthier lifestyle practices.