Health Prompts Returning Exercisers

U.S women with body-image issues were more likely to return to exercise classes emphasizing health than those in classes focused on looks, a U.S. study found.

Researchers at Ohio State University in Columbus studied nearly 100 college-aged women with social physique anxiety — chronic worries that others are critiquing one’s body.

Women in a step-aerobics class — in which the instructor told them how exercise will make them more fit — were more likely to say they would try a similar class in the future. However, women taught by an instructor who emphasized appearance were less likely to say they would try the class again.

The study was published in the journal Psychology of Sport and Exercise.

The average age of the study participants was 19 and the average body mass index was 24.7, within the ideal range for body size.