Why and How Should I Exercise?
A Content Analysis of Popular Magazines
Emily L. Mailey, PhD
Rebecca Gasper, MPH
Deirdre Dlugonski, PhD
Objectives: In this study, we investigated how exercise is portrayed in popular, non-fitness focused magazines targeting various audiences. Methods: Ten popular magazines were selected
based on target audience (Teens, Young Adults, Family, Middle-Aged Adults, Older Adults). Ten
digital articles from each magazine’s health/fitness section were coded for the primary reason
to exercise, the frequency, intensity, time, and type of exercise recommended, and whether their
recommendations were evidence-based. Frequencies were calculated by target audience. Results: The primary reason for exercise differed by audience, with appearance and fitness emphasized by magazines targeting younger audiences, and mental health/quality of life emphasized
in magazines targeting older adults. Over half of the articles described exercises that should
be completed 2x-3x/week for <10 minutes. Articles frequently recommended circuit workouts
that could be completed at moderate or self-selected intensity. Only 10% of articles cited peerreviewed evidence. Conclusions: Results showed popular magazines often represent exercise as
something that can be completed in a short time frame with meaningful benefits. However, an
overemphasis on appearance in young adults is apparent, which could undermine intrinsic motivation and behavior. Improved communication between researchers and popular magazines is
needed to promote sharing of credible, evidence-based exercise content with the public.
Key words: exercise; magazine; Internet; motivation
Am J Health Behav.™ 2019;43(2):349-360
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5993/AJHB.43.2.11
T
here are numerous benefits to engaging in
regular physical activity, including a reduced
risk of developing many chronic diseases,
weight management, improved mood and mental
health status, and an overall increase in quality of
life.1 To achieve these benefits, the current physical
activity guidelines for American adults recommend
150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity activity. In addition, adults should engage in strength
training at least 2 days per week.2 However, despite
the overwhelming evidence of physical activity
benefits, recent estimates suggest only about 21%
of American adults currently meet the guidelines.1
Inactivity is prevalent among all age groups, but
physical activity tends to decline with age and may
vary across different life stages.3 For example, significant reductions in physical activity have been
observed as individuals transition to young adulthood and parenthood,4,5 and older adults may have
unique barriers and preferences due to limitations
in physical function, health problems, and lack of
physical activity knowledge and experience.6 Although it is possible to accumulate physical activity across various domains (eg, work, household,
transportation), promoting increases in leisuretime exercise is perhaps the most common approach to physical activity promotion.
Individuals’ perceptions of exercise are likely to
influence their uptake of the behavior. For example, if one expects exercise will lead to positive outcomes such as weight loss, improved health, and
Emily L. Mailey, Associate Professor, Department of Kinesiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS. Rebecca Gasper, Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Kinesiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS. Deirdre Dlugonski, Assistant Professor, Department of Kinesiology, East
Carolina University, Greenville, NC.
Correspondence Dr Mailey; emailey@ksu.edu
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Why and How Should I Exercise? A Content Analysis of Popular Magazines
reduced stress, he or she is more likely to adopt
the behavior, whereas negative outcome expectations such as taking time away from other valued
activities, sweating/muscle soreness, and other deterrents can influence exercise participation.7 Such
perceptions are developed from exposure to a variety of information and experiences, including messages conveyed in the media.8 An extensive body
of research demonstrates that the framing of such
messages impacts the way they are perceived by the
audience. For instance, if exercise is portrayed as
a grueling, time-consuming task, individuals may
be less likely to engage in it than if it is portrayed
as a pleasurable activity that can be integrated into
one’s daily life.9 The pathways by which magazine
content can potentially influence readers’ exercise
perceptions and behavior are illustrated in the conceptual model (Figure 1).
Previous content analyses have been conducted
to examine magazine portrayals of exercise. Specifically, these analyses have investigated media
frames, or the inherent messages disseminated by
the magazines about why one should engage in a
behavior.10 These studies have focused largely on
the extent to which exercise is framed as a tool for
improving appearance versus health in health-focused magazines. For example, Aubrey’s ‘Looking
Good vs Feeling Good’ found that appearance and
health frames are equally prevalent in health/fitness
magazines including Shape and Self, which suggests these magazines may be giving contradictory
messages to their readers by encouraging women
to be healthy, but not to let health impede on the
commitment to look good.11 Willis and KnoblochWesterwick conducted a similar study of women’s
health/fitness magazines, and found that editorial
content emphasized appearance over health.12 Bazzini et al13 compared Men’s Health magazine to
Women’s Health, and found that weight and appearance frames were equally prominent in magazines
targeting both men and women. Even yoga, a type
of exercise with a traditional focus on a mind-body
connection and emotional well-being, has fallen
victim to increasing focus on appearance and body
objectification, as evidenced by a content analysis
of mainstream yoga magazines.14
These findings suggest the dominant messages
in health-focused magazines may be at odds with
research about optimal reasons/goals for engaging
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in exercise. Mounting evidence suggests messages
that facilitate the development of intrinsic exercise
goals (eg, exercising for the inherent satisfaction or
enjoyment it provides) may have a more positive
influence on exercise motivation and behavior than
those that promote extrinsic reasons for exercise
such as appearance or weight loss.15,16 The heavy
focus on appearance identified by previous studies
is worrisome because of its link to increased body
shame,11 but also because such extrinsic goals have
been associated consistently with poor exercise adherence over time.15 Some research has suggested
exercise goals related to daily well-being may be
the most potent of all, because short-term affective outcomes are immediately noticeable and add
value and meaning to engaging in exercise.17 However, previous content analyses have not examined
the extent to which popular magazines are emphasizing affective outcomes such as improved mood,
energy, and stress as opposed to extrinsic reasons
such as health, fitness, appearance, or weight.
We designed the present study to extend previous research on magazine representations of exercise in several ways. First, most previous studies
have limited their investigations to health-focused
magazines (ie, Men’s Health and Women’s Health)
and not examined messages in other popular magazines. To fill this gap, we used magazines that had
a primary focus on something besides fitness/
health but still offered information to readers on
the topic of physical activity/exercise. Readers of
these magazines typically have broader interests
and may not have the exercise knowledge or motivation that readers of health-focused magazines
possess.18 Thus, they may be using the magazine
content as a primary source of information about
why and how they should exercise. Ensuring that
the information presented in these magazines is
accurate, realistic, and framed positively may take
on added importance for influencing readers’ perceptions of exercise, and ultimately whether or not
they engage in the behavior. Additionally, given the
prevalence of online health information seeking,19
this study analyzed digital (online) articles instead
of print articles. Many magazines have adapted to
the digital age by increasing their online presence
to keep readers engaged, while also making much
of their content available without a subscription to
attract a diverse readership.
Mailey et al
Figure 1
Conceptual Model Depicting Potential Effects of Magazine Article
Content on Exercise Behavior
This study also expanded the content analysis beyond media frames to include a focus on how exercise is portrayed in terms of the FITT principles (ie,
frequency, intensity, time, and type). These characteristics may affect individuals’ perceptions of exercise, and thus, the likelihood that they will engage
in the behavior; yet, to our knowledge, no studies
have quantified representations of these variables in
magazines. Finally, although previous studies have
compared magazine content targeting women versus men, we are not aware of any studies that have
compared content across target audiences of various ages. The relevance of various reasons for exercise, as well as the type and intensity of preferred
exercise, may vary across the lifespan.6,7,20 Thus, we
used information about the magazines’ target audience demographics to stratify our results.
The overall purpose of this study was to conduct a
content analysis to compare: (1) the primary reason
to exercise, and (2) the frequency, intensity, time,
and type of exercise portrayed in popular digital
magazines with designated health/fitness sections
across target audiences of various ages. In addition,
we evaluated whether magazines cited scientific
evidence to support their recommendations. As
the Internet has become a primary means of seeking exercise and health information, it is critical
to examine the messages about why and how one
should exercise being delivered through popular
online sources. For practitioners working to promote exercise among various groups, understanding the normative messages to which their clients
or patients are exposed can inform their interactions with them, and allow them to intervene if
Am J Health Behav.™ 2019;43(2):349-360
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5993/AJHB.43.2.11
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Why and How Should I Exercise? A Content Analysis of Popular Magazines
Table 1
Characteristics of Included Magazines
Title
Target audience
Circulation
% female
Magazine’s target
demographic
Seventeen
Teen
2,000,585
85.4%
Girls/women 12-24
Teen Vogue
Teen
1,007,108
94.8%
Teenage girls
Cosmopolitan
Young adult
3,011,848
82.3%
Women 18-35
Glamour
Young adult
2,297,755
90.5%
Women 18-49
Family Circle
Family
4,056,156
90.5%
Mothers
All You
Family
4,300,000
96.7%
Mothers
Woman’s Day
Middle-aged adult
3,275,962
94.6%
Women 35-60
Prevention
Middle-aged adult
1,512,798
78.7%
Women 30-65
AARP The Magazine
Older adult
23,144,225
58.0%
Adults 50+
Reader’s Digest
Older adult
3,024,031
59.0%
Emphasis on adults 50+
Note.
Information compiled from magazine websites and media kits
they are aware that messages may be undermining
individuals’ exercise behavior and/or well-being.
This research also may encourage health behavior
researchers to collaborate more intentionally with
popular magazines and/or other media sources to
ensure current exercise research is being communicated to lay audiences in a format that is accurate,
understandable, appealing, and highly accessible.
METHODS
Magazine Selection/Inclusion Criteria
To focus the investigation on popular magazines,
we started with a list of the top 100 magazines in
circulation in North America from 2015.21 Next,
members of the research team screened the top
100 magazines to determine if they met the following inclusion criteria: (1) primary focus was not
related to health and/or exercise/fitness, (2) magazine had an online component, and (3) magazine
had a designated health/fitness section online that
included information related to physical activity/
exercise. After screening each magazine, 26 of the
100 met these criteria. During the screening process, information regarding the magazine’s target
audience (age and sex) also was extracted from the
magazine’s website and/or media kit.
Because we aimed to examine the messages being
sent to different audiences, 5 general target audiences were selected: (1) Teens, (2) Young Adults,
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(3) Family, (4) Middle-Aged Adults, and (5) Older
Adults. Next, to represent multiple sources per
target audience but keep the analysis focused on
high-circulation publications, the 2 most popular
magazines (based on circulation data) that met
all inclusion criteria were selected for each group.
The following magazines were used for each target audience: (1) Teens: Seventeen and Teen Vogue,
(2) Young Adults: Cosmopolitan and Glamour, (3)
Family: Family Circle and All You, (4) Middle-Aged
Adults: Woman’s Day and Prevention, and (5) Older
Adults: AARP The Magazine and Reader’s Digest
(Table 1).
Once the magazines were identified, to achieve a
representative sample of their content, we chose 10
articles that focused on exercise or physical activity
from each magazine’s website within the designated
health/fitness section. The 10 most recent exercise/
physical activity articles that were accessible on the
websites were used for each magazine, resulting in
100 articles included in the content analysis. All
articles were gathered during the week of November 1, 2016.
Coding
A total of 6 investigators coded the articles. To
establish the coding procedure, an initial set of
variables and categories were developed by the lead
investigator based on a preliminary review of the
Mailey et al
Table 2
Final Categories for Each of the 6 Variables Extracted and Coded
Reason for Exercise
Exercise
Frequency
Exercise
Intensity
Exercise Time
(Duration)
Exercise
Type
Evidence-based
1
Appearance
2-3 days/week
Light
<10 minutes/
<10 exercises
Cardio
Peer-reviewed
article
2
Weight loss
4-5 days/week
Moderate
11-30 minutes/
11-20 exercises
Strength
Fitness professional/
expert advice
3
Fitness/stamina
6-7 days/week
Vigorous
>30 minutes/
>20 exercises
Flexibility
None
4
Physical health
5
Mental health/QOLa
Self-selected
Circuit
Other
Note.
a: QOL=Quality of life
reasons and FITT principles commonly portrayed
in popular magazines. Subsequently, 5 articles from
5 magazines were randomly selected and coded by
all investigators. This allowed the group to address
and resolve ambiguities, and resulted in a number
of revisions to the initial categories. Additional
practice coding was completed to test these refined
guidelines. All articles for the final analysis were
coded by 2 investigators. Once the coding was
completed individually, the partners met to discuss
their results and resolve any potential discrepancies. Initial inter-rater agreement was 79.33%; any
discrepancies between partners were brought to the
full group and discussed until 100% agreement
was reached.
During coding, information on the following
variables was extracted: reason for exercise, exercise
frequency, intensity, time, and type, and whether
the article was evidence-based. Table 2 displays the
final categories used, which are described in detail
below.
Reason for exercise. Reason to exercise was often
found in the title and/or introduction to the article (eg, “Six bodyweight exercises to sculpt a lean
body” [appearance] or “The most important workout to do for your overall health” [physical health]).
Final categories included appearance, physical
health, weight loss, fitness/stamina, and mental
health/quality of life (including affective benefits
such as stress relief, improved mood, and vitality).
Most articles focused on one central reason, but
some contained a combination of messages. Thus,
for the articles that included 2 reasons, both reasons were coded.
Exercise frequency. For frequency, information
about the recommended number of days per week
of exercise was extracted. The following categories
were created based on the distribution of observations: 2-3 days/week, 4-5 days/week, and 6-7 days/
week. If an article included a range that straddled
2 categories (eg, 3-4 days/week), it was included in
the lower category, based on the assumption that
readers would view that amount as the minimum
recommended frequency to achieve the cited benefits. However, if a greater proportion of the range
fell in the upper category, it was included in that
group (eg, 3-5 days/week was classified as 4 – 5
days/week).
Exercise intensity. Categories for exercise intensity included light, moderate, vigorous, and self-selected. During initial coding, few articles explicitly
referenced an intensity. Thus, using average MET
values from the Compendium of Physical Activities,22 guidelines were established regarding what
constituted light versus moderate versus vigorous
activity. Light activity included low-intensity activities such as yoga and stretching, whereas moderate
activity consisted of bodyweight strength training
(eg, ab workouts) and walking. Vigorous activity
included high-intensity activities such as running,
as well as boot-camp style workouts and any articles that contained keywords like ‘challenging’,
‘hard-core’, or ‘brutal’. Because a large number of
articles presented circuit-style workouts that in-
Am J Health Behav.™ 2019;43(2):349-360
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5993/AJHB.43.2.11
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Why and How Should I Exercise? A Content Analysis of Popular Magazines
cluded a series of exercises that could vary significantly in intensity based on readers’ level of fitness
and/or the amount of effort they applied towards
the workout, a fourth ‘self-selected’ category was
included to account for these variations.
Exercise time (duration). For duration, information about the number of minutes or the number of exercises (ie, for strength or circuit-type
workouts recommending X sets of X unique exercises) mentioned in the article was extracted. The
total number of exercises was determined by multiplying the number of exercises by the number of
recommended sets. In cases where articles cited a
range of minutes (eg, 10-15 minutes) or sets (eg,
2-3 sets), the lower number was used, as described
for exercise frequency above. Based on the estimate
that one exercise would take approximately one
minute to complete, and longer workouts would
include additional rest time between exercises and/
or sets, the following guidelines were used to equate
number of exercises to minutes: <10 exercises ≤10
minutes, 10-20 exercises=10-30 minutes, and >20
exercises ≥30 minutes.
Exercise type. For type of workout, categories
included cardio, strength, flexibility, circuit, and
other (eg, sport-related activities, activities of daily
living). Articles describing circuit workouts presented a series of specific exercises to be completed
and typically contained more than one mode of exercise (eg, cardio + strength).
Evidence-based. References to sources to support the recommendations provided in the articles
were examined. Initially this investigation was limited to whether the articles cited a scientific (peerreviewed) source of evidence, but during initial
coding many articles did not cite peer-reviewed research, but did reference a personal trainer or other
“expert”. Therefore, an additional category ‘Fitness
Professional’ was created. Any articles that did not
reference a fitness professional or peer-reviewed article were coded as having no evidence.
RESULTS
Frequency Distributions
Reason for exercise. A total of 120 reasons for
exercise were identified. Across all target audiences,
the most prominent reason for exercise was fitness
(38.3%), followed by appearance (30.8%). Only
5.8% of articles specifically mentioned weight loss
as a reason for exercise, whereas 10% and 15% emphasized physical health and mental health/quality
of life, respectively.
Exercise frequency. Approximately half of the
articles (49%) made some reference to exercise frequency. Of these, 51.0% referred to exercising 2-3
days/week, 16.3% referred to exercising 4-5 days/
week, and 32.7% referred to exercising 6-7 days/
week.
Exercise intensity. An equal number of articles
recommended moderate exercise (33.1%) or exercise at self-selected intensity (33.1%) exercise,
whereas vigorous (23.8%) and light (10.0%) intensity exercise were mentioned less frequently.
Exercise time (duration). A total of 73 articles
specified duration in terms of either minutes or
number of exercises. Of these, 50.7% described exercises less than 10 minutes in duration, 31.5% referenced exercises 11-30 minutes in duration, and
17.8% discussed exercise greater than 30 minutes
in duration.
Exercise type. Circuit workouts were the most
prevalent type of exercise referenced (43.9%), followed by strength (24.6%) and cardio (14.9%)
workouts.
Evidence-based. Of the 100 articles examined,
only 10 cited a peer-reviewed article, 6 of which
were in magazines targeting older adults (3 in AARP
and 3 in Reader’s Digest). However, 60% of articles
referenced some sort of “expert” (eg, certified personal trainer, fitness pro, etc). Thirty articles (30%)
did not cite either a scientific article or an expert to
support their recommendations.
Data Analysis
After coding was complete, the numbers of responses for each category were summed by target
audience and frequency distributions were examined for each variable. Subsequently, chi-square
analyses were conducted to determine whether the
distributions varied by target audience.
Differences by Target Audience
Chi-square analyses revealed no significant differences by target audience in terms of the frequency
(χ2 = 8.22, p = .41) or time (χ2 = 2.40, p = .97) of
exercise recommended (Figure 3a and 3c). However, there were statistically significant differences
across target audiences for reason for exercise (χ2
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Mailey et al
Figure 2
Reasons for Exercise by Target Audience
= 42.11, p < .001), exercise type (χ2 = 33.31, p =.
007), exercise intensity (χ2 = 32.48, p = .001), and
evidence-base (χ2 = 21.16, p = .007).
Specifically, appearance was the most common
reason for exercise portrayed to the young adult and
family audiences, whereas fitness was the most common for the teen and middle-aged adult audiences.
With the exception of one reference to physical
health in a teen magazine, physical health was only
mentioned as a reason for exercise for the magazines
targeting the 2 oldest target audiences, and weight
loss was only mentioned in the magazines targeting
the 3 oldest audiences. Mental health/quality of life
was the most common reason for exercise cited in
magazines targeting older adults (Figure 2).
For exercise type, circuit workouts were most
common in the magazines targeting the 3 youngest target audiences, whereas cardio and flexibility
exercises were referenced more often as the target
population’s age increased. References to strength
training peaked in the middle-aged adult audience
(Figure 3d). Similarly, vigorous intensity exercise
was more often mentioned in magazines targeting younger audiences, and references to light and
moderate intensity exercise increased as the age of
the target audience increased. Recommendations
to do exercise of self-selected intensity were common in the teen, middle-aged adult, and especially
family audiences (Figure 3b).
As mentioned previously, magazines targeting
older adults were more likely to cite scientific articles than magazines targeting the other 4 target audiences. Magazines targeting teens, young adults,
and families frequently mentioned fitness experts
or professionals (72% of all articles for these audiences), whereas 55% of articles targeting middleaged adults did not reference either a scientific
article or an expert.
Am J Health Behav.™ 2019;43(2):349-360
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5993/AJHB.43.2.11
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Why and How Should I Exercise? A Content Analysis of Popular Magazines
Figure 3
Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type of Exercise by Target Audience
DISCUSSION
The overall aim of this study was to examine how
exercise is portrayed in popular online magazines
that publish content related to exercise, but do not
have a primary focus on health/fitness. Specifically,
this investigation compared reasons for exercise, the
recommended frequency, intensity, time and type
of exercise, and the extent to which content was
evidence-based across popular magazines targeting
audiences of different ages. To our knowledge, no
previous content analyses have examined popular,
non-health-focused magazines specifically, nor included comparisons of magazines targeting readers
in different life stages, and the analyses yielded several intriguing findings.
Our findings suggest that exercise-related messages may differ between magazines with a specific
health focus compared to those that have a broader
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focus. For example, this analysis found that fitness
was the most commonly portrayed reason for exercise, whereas an analysis of women’s health magazines (eg, Shape, Fitness, Women’s Health) by Aubrey
et al23 found health and appearance frames were
significantly more common than body competence
(ie, fitness) frames. However, the messages in the
present study varied based on the target audience.
Magazines targeting young adults and parents, who
are likely the target audience of the health and fitness magazines examined in previous studies, focused on exercising to improve appearance, whereas
magazines targeting older adults primarily emphasized benefits related to mental health and quality
of life. Although it is encouraging that magazines
targeting teens put less emphasis on appearance and
weight, appearance messages peaked in magazines
targeting young adult and family audiences, which
is concerning for several reasons. First, media expo-
Mailey et al
sure to images of ideal bodies has been associated
with reduced body satisfaction and increased body
shame,11,24 which may be precursors to deleterious
behaviors such as disordered eating and exercise
addiction.25 Second, focusing on appearance may
promote extrinsic motivation and undermine exercise maintenance, particularly among parents.
Parents view their children and families as their
top priority, and choose to prioritize daily activities
that contribute to this role in meaningful, noticeable ways.26 Presumably, if the exercise messages
they encounter primarily focus on appearance,
these messages are disconnected from the core roles
that they value and may exacerbate feelings of guilt
about taking time to exercise.26 Healthcare providers and public health practitioners who frequently
interact with young and middle-aged adults should
be mindful of these dominant appearance-focused
messages and assess clients/patients’ prominent
reasons for exercise. If a focus on extrinsic motives
is apparent, practitioners can employ intervention
strategies (eg, motivational interviewing) to alter
individuals’ exercise perceptions and shift their
focus to intrinsic benefits that are less likely to be
promoted in the popular media, but more closely
tied to outcomes they value.
Accumulating evidence suggests exercising to
achieve intrinsic benefits related to daily quality of
life contributes to exercise engagement and maintenance.16,17 Thus, it is perhaps not coincidental
that magazines targeting older adults were most
likely to focus on these benefits, and also most
likely to cite peer-reviewed evidence in their articles. There are other potential explanations for this
shift in article focus based on the target audience.
Physical and mental health outcomes are likely to
become increasingly relevant as individuals age,
whereas appearance becomes less important.27
Thus, magazines targeting older readers seem to
be matching their content to the needs and values
of the target audience. It is also worth noting that
the readership of the 2 magazines targeting older
adults was more evenly distributed between men
and women, whereas the others primarily targeted
women. Thus, the sex of the target audience may
have played a role in the differences in content. An
emphasis on appearance and body ideals has been
viewed primarily as a women’s issue,24 though one
content analysis found body objectifying messages
to be equally prominent in health magazines tar-
geting men and women.13 Further research is needed to understand how age and sex might interact
when developing optimal exercise messages.
Our results also shed light on the ways exercise
is portrayed in terms of frequency, intensity, time,
and type. Overall, results showed popular magazines are often representing exercise as something
that can be completed in a short time frame with
meaningful benefits. For example, over half of articles described exercises that would last 10 minutes or less, and should be completed 2-3 times per
week. Additionally, a large proportion of articles
recommended circuit workouts that could be completed at a moderate or self-selected intensity. In
many cases, the exercises depicted in these articles
would be feasible in a home setting with little or no
equipment. Considering lack of time is a commonly cited exercise barrier,26,28 it appears that popular
magazines are succeeding in portraying exercise as
something that is feasible to fit into one’s busy daily
life. Furthermore, there is evidence that vigorous
intensity exercise is often perceived to be unpleasant, particularly among overweight and/or inactive
individuals,29 so it is encouraging that magazines
are emphasizing moderate intensity activity, particularly when targeting audiences over 30 years old.
Overall, popular magazines appear to be “selling”
the idea that exercise is easy to do, which could enhance readers’ confidence (ie, self-efficacy) in their
ability to engage in the behavior.
There are several potential concerns regarding
popular magazines’ representations of exercise,
however. First, such brief, infrequent bouts of activity would not meet the current national physical
activity guidelines. Some emerging evidence suggests brief bouts of activity may contribute to shortterm physiological benefits,30 but further research
is needed to identify the health benefits of bouts of
activity less than 10 minutes in duration. Second,
magazines may be promoting unrealistic outcome
expectations by promising dramatic changes in fitness or appearance with minimal effort. Although
positive outcome expectations may prompt individuals to initiate exercise, exercise maintenance
relies more heavily on one’s satisfaction with actual
outcomes.7,31 Thus, if the espoused improvements
in fitness or appearance do not occur in a short
time frame, individuals may become discouraged
and discontinue the exercise.32 Despite these con-
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Why and How Should I Exercise? A Content Analysis of Popular Magazines
cerns, the current guidelines state that “some activity is better than none,” and dose-response studies
have demonstrated the largest health benefits are
obtained when individuals move from doing no activity to doing some activity, even if they fall short
of the recommended 150 minutes per week.33 Thus,
for individuals who are doing no activity and/or do
not believe carving out 30 minutes per day for exercise is a realistic goal, popular magazines may be
providing an avenue for them to incorporate some
exercise into their lives. It is worth noting that almost all articles focused on leisure-time exercise
(or “workouts”), and in doing so may constrain
readers’ views of what “counts” as physical activity.
Healthcare professionals should consider this bias
when interacting with clients/patients, and provide
recommendations for accumulating physical activity as part of other daily activities, including occupational and household duties.34
The fact that so few articles cited peer-reviewed
evidence is concerning, and reinforces the finding
that many of the messages about exercise in popular magazines are in conflict with current evidence
about optimal physical activity goals and recommendations. Although many articles did cite an
“expert” to support their recommendations, it is
difficult to determine the credibility of these individuals. Furthermore, we did not evaluate the quality of the peer-reviewed studies cited, as previous
studies of quality of health-related evidence have
done.35 Nevertheless, our findings are consistent
with a content analysis of popular Australian magazines that found the health advice provided was
generally poorly presented and unreliable.36 Wilson et al36 caution that the standards for rigor in
magazines tend to be lower than the standards for
news media, yet magazines still portray their content as “evidence-based and current.” In many cases
the content that draws readers’ attention (eg, quick
fixes that improve appearance with minimal time
and effort) may conflict with scientific evidence
regarding successful behavior adoption and maintenance. Thus, consumers should be advised to be
cautious of media messages and look for signs that
the information provided is evidence-based and
reliable (eg, it references peer-reviewed research
or was produced by a reputable, non-commercial
organization). In particular, given the proliferation
of online health information seeking, ongoing promotion of eHealth literacy is warranted.37 At the
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same time, magazines still can present evidencebased information in an appealing way. Indeed,
previous research has shown individuals are more
receptive to information from a credible source.38
To facilitate the presentation of evidence-based
information in popular media, researchers should
work to communicate their findings in a way that
is understandable to lay audiences, and explore
strategies for increasing the accessibility of their research to journalists (eg, via social media).39
This study has a number of strengths and limitations to acknowledge. Its major strength is that
it addresses several questions that have not been
addressed previously by content analyses. The examination of differences based on age of the target
audience, the FITT principles, and online nonhealth magazines are all unique contributions to
the existing literature. By using online articles from
popular magazines that are freely accessible, the
analysis was aligned with a prominent means of accessing exercise information.19 Although magazine
popularity was determined by circulation, data
regarding online readership was available in some
media kits, and all indicated that their websites
had millions of unique visitors per month, thereby
suggesting that their online content was highly accessed as well. The coding procedures were developed iteratively, building on previous research but
adapting as necessary to address the key research
questions. One key limitation was that almost all
magazines included in this content analysis catered
to largely female audiences. Thus, it is not possible
to draw conclusions about how exercise is portrayed to men, or how these depictions may differ
between men and women. Additionally, some of
the age ranges of the target audiences overlapped,
so these results should be approached with caution
and investigated further. Furthermore, the magazines included may have had different editorial visions that impacted the content as much or more
so than the target audience. Finally, this study only
examined the content delivered by magazines, but
not how it was perceived by readers. Future studies
should examine how varying representations of exercise influence individuals’ attitudes, motivation,
and behavior across the lifespan.
In conclusion, this study enhanced our understanding of the messages about why and how one
should exercise to which individuals in various life
Mailey et al
stages are exposed through popular magazines. Our
results suggest that with the exception of magazines
targeting older adults, most popular magazines are
framing exercise as a means to achieve extrinsic benefits related to fitness and appearance as opposed to
intrinsic benefits related to enhanced mental health
and quality of life. Additionally, many magazines
portray exercise as something that is feasible to fit
into daily life by featuring workouts that are short
in duration and moderate in intensity. Although
this may enhance readers’ confidence to incorporate exercise into their lives, it also may contribute
to unrealistic expectations about the outcomes exercise will produce. Further research is needed to
investigate the extent to which magazines’ messages
influence readers’ exercise perceptions and behavior. However, it is important that public health
practitioners and healthcare providers are aware of
the current messages, and their potential effects on
their audiences, to be more effective in counseling
their clients to facilitate more positive, realistic perceptions of exercise. Our results also suggest popular magazines should strive to incorporate more
peer-reviewed evidence to support their exercise
recommendations. Researchers can facilitate this
process by translating their results for lay audiences
and highlighting practical recommendations based
on their findings.
Human Subjects Statement
This research did not involve human subjects.
Conflict of Interest Statement
All authors of this article declare that they have
no conflicts of interest.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Aaron Swank, Chelsey Glatz,
Mia Taylor, and Emilee Pool for their contributions to this project.
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