Abstract
In this study we examined motives for exercise as well as the frequency and amount of time spent in exercising in female and male undergraduates in two Muslim countries [Oman, n = 104 and Pakistan, n = 134] as compared with those of U.S. undergraduates [n = 560]. As predicted, overall levels of exercise activity were found to be lower in undergraduates from Pakistan and Oman than in the U.S. sample, and higher in men than women across all three countries. Muslim women were least likely to exercise with the modal groups for both countries not exercising at all. Gender and country differences were more evident in reports of frequency and duration of exercise than in thinking about exercise. Thoughts about exercise predicted frequency and duration of exercise in all gender by country groups. Improving health was especially important as a reason for exercise for the Omani students, as predicted, although this motive was even higher in the Omani women than men. Pakistani women and men were motivated by wanting to relax (as predicted) and improve their appearance, an unexpected finding. For Spending Time with Others, Oman was highest, followed by Pakistan, and with the U.S. lowest, a result not predicted, although the more communal Muslim cultures may help explain this finding.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahearn, S. (2012). Pitt ranked as 12th healthiest college by greatlist.com. Unpublished raw data. Division of Student Affairs. Retrieved from http://www.studentaffairs.pitt.edu/sites/default/files/PDFsandForms/StudentAffairs/12thhealthiestcollege.pdf
Al-Kilani, H., Waly, M., & Yousef, R. (2012). Trends of obesity and overweight among college students in Oman. Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal, 12, 69–76.
Al-Sinani, Y., & Benn, T. (2011). The Sultanate of Oman and the position of girls and women in physical education and sport. In T. Benn, G. Pfister, & H. Jawad (Eds.), Muslim women and sport (pp. 125–137). New York: Routledge.
Batnitzky, A. (2008). Obesity and household roles: Gender and social class in Morocco. Sociology of Health & Illness, 30, 445–462. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9566.2007.01067.x.
Benn, T., Pfister, G., & Jawad, H. (2011a). Introduction: Muslim women and sport. In T. Benn, G. Pfister, & H. Jawad (Eds.), Muslim women and sport (pp. 1–9). New York: Routledge.
Benn, T., Pfister, G., & Jawad, H. (Eds.). (2011b). Muslim women and sport. New York: Routledge.
Berman, E., DeSouza, M., & Kerr, G. (2005). A qualitative examination of weight concerns, eating, and exercise behaviors in recreational exercisers. Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal, 14, 24–38.
Cash, T. F., Novy, P. L., & Grant, J. R. (1994). Why do women exercise? Factor analysis and further validation of the reasons for exercise inventory. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 78, 539–544. doi:10.2466/pms.1994.78.2.539.
Central Intelligence Agency. (2014). World Fact Book. Retrieved from http://ciaworldfactbook.us/asia/oman.html .
Chalabaev, A., Sarrazin, P., Fontayne, P., Boiche, J., & Clement-Guillotin, C. (2013). The influence of sex stereotypes and gender roles on participation and performance in sport and exercise: Review and future directions. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 14, 136–144. doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2012.10.005.
Conroy, D., Maher, J., Elavsky, S., Hyde, A., & Doerksen, S. (2013). Sedentary behavior as a daily process regulated by habits and intentions. Health Psychology, 32, 1149–1157. doi:10.1037/a0031629.
Dagkas, S., Jahromi, M. K., & Talbot, M. (2011a). Reaffirming the values of physical education, physical activity and sport in the lives of young muslim women. In T. Benn, G. Pfister, & H. Jawad (Eds.), Muslim women and sport (pp. 13–24). New York: Routledge.
Dagkas, S., Benn, T., & Jawad, H. (2011b). Multiple voices: Improving participation of muslim girls in physical education and school sport. Sport, Education and Society, 16, 223–239. doi:10.1080/13573322.2011.540427.
Deaner, R., & Smith, B. (2012). Sex differences in sports across 50 societies. Cross Cultural Research, 47, 268–309. doi:10.1177/1069397112463687.
Duncan, M. J., Al-Nakeeb, Y., Nevill, A., & Jones, M. V. (2004). Body image and physical activity in British secondary school children. European Physical Education Review, 10, 243–260. doi:10.1177/1356336X04047125.
Gill, D. L., & Kamphoff, C. S. (2010). Gender and sport and exercise psychology. In J. C. Chrisler & D. R. McCreary (Eds.), Handbook of gender research in psychology (Gender research in social and applied psychology, Vol. 2, pp. 563–585). New York: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-1467.
Government College Lahore. (2012). Department of physical education. Retrieved from http://www.gcu.edu.pk/PhyEdu.htm
Hagger, M. S., & Chatzisarantis, N. L. D. (Eds.). (2007). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in exercise and sport. Champaign: Human Kinetics.
Hargreaves, J. (2000). Heroines of sport: The politics of difference and identity. London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203466063.
Hepler, J., Wang, W., & Albarracin, D. (2012). Motivating exercise: The interactive effect of general action goals and past behavior on physical activity. Motivation and Emotion, 36, 365–370. doi:10.1007/s11031-011-9267-0.
Ingledew, D. K., & Markland, D. (1997). The measurement of exercise motives: Factorial validity and invariance across gender of a revised exercise motivations inventory. British Journal of Health Psychology, 2, 361–376. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8287.1997.tb00549.x.
Jafar, T. H., Chaturvedi, N., & Pappas, G. (2006). Prevalence of overweight and obesity and their association with hypertension and diabetes mellitus in an Indo-Asian population. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 175(9), 1–7. doi:10.1503/cmaj.060464.
Jawad, H., Al-Sinani, Y., & Benn, T. (2011). Islam, women and sport. In T. Benn, G. Pfister, & H. Jawad (Eds.), Muslim women and sport (pp. 25–40). New York: Routledge.
Kamarudin, K., & Omar-Fauzee, S. (2007). Attitudes toward physical activities among college students. Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research, 22, 43–54.
Khalid, R., & Frieze, I. H. (2004). Measuring perceptions of gender roles: The IAWS for Pakistanis and U.S. immigrant populations. Sex Roles, 51, 293–300. doi:10.1023/B:SERS.0000046613.99273.22.
Kilpatrick, M., Hebert, E., & Bartholomew, J. (2005). College students’ motivation for physical activity: Differentiating men’s and women’s motives for sport participation and exercise. Journal of American College Health, 54, 87–94.
Lindwall, M., & Hassmen, P. (2004). The role of exercise and gender for physical self-perceptions and importance ratings in Swedish university students. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 14, 373–380. doi:10.1046/j.1600-0838.2003.372.x.
Mabry, R. M., Winkler, E. A., Reeves, M. M., Eakin, E. G., & Owen, N. (2012). Associations of physical activity and sitting time with the metabolic syndrome among Omani adults. Obesity, 20, 2290–2295. doi:10.1038/oby.2012.26.
Maccoby, E. E. (1998). The two sexes: Growing up apart, coming together. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Markland, D., & Hardy, L. (1993). The exercise motivations inventory: Preliminary development and validity of a measure of individuals’ reasons for participation in regular physical exercise. Personality and Individual Differences, 15, 289–296. doi:10.1016/0191-8869(93)90219-S.
Mehana, M., & Kilani, H. (2010). Enhancing physical education in Omani basic education curriculum: Rationale and implications. International Journal for Cross-Cultural Subjects in Education, 1, 100–104.
Nordin, N. A. M. M., Shamsuddin, K., Jamilah, J., & Noor Hanizah, Z. (2003). Work and home physical activity profile of women workers in an electronics factory in The Klang Valley, Malaysia. Women's Health and Urban Life, 2, 5–20.
Oman News Agency. (2013, September 25). Sports affairs minister meets with chairmen of sports associations. Oman News Agency. Retrieved from http://www.omannews.gov.om/ona/english/index.jsp
Pate, R. R., Pratt, M., Blair, S. N., Haskell, W. L., Macera, C. A., Bouchard, C., & Wilmore, H. (1995). Physical activity and public health: A recommendation from the centers for disease control and prevention and the american college of sports medicine. Journal of the American Medical Association, 273, 402–407.
Pfister, G. (2003). Women and sport in Iran: Keeping goal in the hijab? In I. Hartmann Tews & G. Pfister (Eds.), Sport and women: Social issues in international perspective (pp. 207–223). London: Routledge.
Riphenberg, C. J. (1998). Changing gender relations and the development process in Oman. In Y. Haddad & J. Esposito (Eds.), Islam, gender, and social change (pp. 144–168). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2007). Active human nature. In M. S. Hagger & N. L. D. Chatzisarantis (Eds.), Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in exercise and sport (pp. 1–20). Champaign: Human Kinetics.
Silberstein, L. R., Striegel-Moore, R. H., Timko, C., & Rodin, J. (1988). Behavioral and psychological implications of body dissatisfaction: Do men and women differ? Sex Roles, 19, 219–232. doi:10.1007/BF00290156.
Spiegel, A., & Batnitzky, A. (2012, July 26). Who’s afraid of Muslim women exercising? The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/avi-spiegel/whos-afraid-of-muslim-women-exercising_b_1702957.html
Swift, D. L., Johannsen, N. M., Lavie, C. J., Earnest, C. P., & Church, T. S. (2014). The role of exercise and physical activity in weight loss and maintenance. Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, 56, 441–447. doi:10.1016/j.pcad.2013.09.012.
Tylka, T. S., & Calogero, R. M. (2010). Fiction, fashion, and function revisited: An introduction to the special issue on gendered body image, Part II. Sex Roles, 63, 601–608. doi:10.1007/s11199-010-9888-x.
University of Pittsburgh. (2012). Undergraduate bulletin. Retrieved from http://www.bulletins.pitt.edu/undergrad/6b-cas-a.htm
University of Pittsburgh. (2014). School of education. Retrieved from http://www.education.pitt.edu/academicdepartments/healthphysicalactivity/programs/wellness.aspx
Walseth, K. (2006). Young Muslim women and sport: The impact of identity work. Leisure Studies, 25, 75–94. doi:10.1080/02614360500200722.
Williams, J. E., & Best, D. L. (1990). Sex and psyche: Gender and self viewed cross-culturally. Newbury Park: Sage.
World Health Organization [WHO]. (2008). 2008–2013 action plan for the global strategy for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases. Geneva: World Health Organization.
World Obesity. (Producer). (2014). World Map of Obesity [Web Map]. Retrieved from http://www.worldobesity.org/aboutobesity/resources/world-map-obesity/
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendix
Appendix
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Li, C., Zayed, K., Muazzam, A. et al. Motives for Exercise in Undergraduate Muslim Women and Men in Oman and Pakistan Compared to the United States. Sex Roles 72, 68–84 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-014-0435-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-014-0435-z